奥斯卡安慰礼包让人哭笑不得

今年的奥斯卡颁奖礼，注定有人欢喜有人忧。不过痛失奥斯卡奖的诸位也不必太难过，因为洛杉矶营销公司Distinctive Assets将向落选者发放价值16万英镑的豪华礼包，以安慰他们无缘小金人的失落。历届奥斯卡的大礼包都价值不菲，细数其中礼品，从名牌手表、旅游行程到生活用品都应有尽有。如果能将其抱回家也算是个不错的安慰，但是，这个礼包可不是白拿的，今年想要拿走礼包可能还得支付税金。

Pity the poor losing Oscar nominees at Hollywood's opulent Dolby theatre later this month. Not only must they contend with the world's gaze as somebody else heads up the famous steps to pick up the US film industry's highest honour, but they may find themselves facing a whopping tax bill, too.

我们对本月底在富丽堂皇的好莱坞杜比剧院将不幸落败的奥斯卡提名人深表同情。不仅是因为他们必须在全世界的注视下看着别人得意洋洋地拿下美国电影行业的最高荣誉，而且他们可能会发现自己还面临着巨额税款。

Every year, nominees who fail to go home with a gong receive an unofficial Oscars goodie bag from the US marketing firm Distinctive Assets. Recipients of this year's £160,000 selection get a three-night stay at the gilded Lost Coast Ranch in north California, worth £17,600, a 10-year supply of oxygenating makeup products (£38,000) and 10 sessions with celebrity trainer Alexis Seletzky (£1,200), so it's not all bad.

每年，未获奖的提名者都会收到美国营销公司Distinctive Assets提供的非官方奥斯卡大礼包。今年的礼包价值16万英镑，其中包含价值17600英镑的加利福尼亚北部奢华的失落海岸牧场3日住宿，10年的补氧化妆品供应 There's also a six-day holiday in Hawaii, in a luxurious villa on the sunkissed south coast of Kauai, and, for those who fancy paying George Clooney a visit, three days at the £800-a-night Grand Hotel Tremezzo on Lake Como, Italy.

落选者还可在夏威夷阳光灿烂的考艾岛南部海岸豪华别墅度假6天，而想要拜访乔治•克鲁尼的人可以选择意大利科摩湖边特雷麦梭大酒店的3日住宿，价值每晚800英镑。

But there's always a catch. The reason the goodie bag is unofficial is that Academy chiefs stopped handing out an Oscars-branded version in 2006 after an investigation by the US's Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

但是事情可没那么简单。这份大礼包之所以属于非官方性质是因为在美国国税局进行调查后2006年奥斯卡奖负责人就停止发放奥斯卡冠名的大礼包。

Investigators ruled that the lavish mementos should be treated as income, since they were not given "solely out of affection, respect or similar impulses". A spokesperson for the Academy told CNN: "It seemed a little inappropriate to offer a gesture of thanks that then carried with it a (tax) obligation."

调查员认定，这些豪华纪念品应被视为收入处理，因为赠送礼包“不仅仅是出于喜爱、尊敬或者类似动机”。奥斯卡奖的一位发言人对CNN表示：“对人表示感谢后给其增加纳税义务，这似乎不太妥当。”

In truth, the gift bags were, and are, about promoting the ultra-high-end products contained within, which is why a lucrative independent industry - led by Distinctive Assets and its founder, Lash Fary - has sprung up to plug the gap in the market.

事实上，这些大礼包一直推广其中的超高端产品。因此，由Distinctive Assets及其创始人拉斯•法莱领军的这样一个利润丰厚的独立产业才会迅速出现，填补市场缺口。

Last year, after turning a blind eye for about a decade, Oscars chiefs threatened to sue Fary and his company for copyright infringement after the 2016 goodie bag raised eyebrows with gifts including sex toys, a 10-day VIP trip to Israel and something called a "vampire breast lift".

近十年来奥斯卡一直对此睁一只眼闭一只眼，直到去年奥斯卡奖主席们威胁起诉法莱及其公司侵犯版权，因为2016年的大礼包所含的礼品居然包括性玩具、以色列贵宾10日游以及所谓的“吸血鬼胸部提升手术”。

Still, there remains the matter of that tax bill. Distinctive Assets' selections continue to attract the IRS's attention, and £160,000 in extra income could trigger a fair old payout to the public purse. There is a silver lining of sorts, though: recipients can avoid stumping up if they are prepared to make a significant sacrifice and donate the bag's contents to charity.

今年，纳税的问题仍然存在。Distinctive Assets提供的礼品一直受到美国国税局的关注，而16万英镑的额外收入可能会让国库获得一笔税收。不过，落选者还有一线希望：如果他们准备好做出巨大牺牲，将礼品捐赠给慈善机构，那么他们就可以避免自掏腰包。