Taxable income increases by $7300, award-winning players give up Xbox Game Pass "lifetime membership"

CTOnews.com April 15 news, a player recently posted in the Microsoft Rewards Reddit community, although lucky enough to win the "Lifetime Membership" of Xbox Game Pass, but chose to give up due to the problem of paying taxes.

Some of the CTOnews.com translation posts are as follows:

If I receive this Xbox Game Pass lifetime membership, my taxable income will increase by $7300 in 2023 (CTOnews.com Note: currently about 50151 yuan).

According to the US tax law, I will add $1752 to my federal tax bill in 2023 (CTOnews.com Note: currently about 12036 yuan) (24% of the bonus value). In addition, I have to pay state income tax.

I don't have to bother to calculate how much tax I have to pay now. The "lifetime" part of Xbox is valid for up to 40 years, so they have to report a cash value of $7300 to IRS. The award is not transferable and I do not require it to be converted into the same amount of cash.

This reward doesn't mean much to me. If I'm going to pay $1752, why don't I just buy Xbox Game Pass for a few years?