奧斯卡安慰禮包讓人哭笑不得

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.

我們對本月底在富麗堂皇的好萊塢杜比劇院將不幸落敗的奧斯卡提名人深表同情。不僅是因爲他們必須在全世界的注視下看着別人得意洋洋地拿下美國電影行業的最高榮譽，而且他們可能會發現自己還面臨着鉅額稅款。

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，未獲獎的提名者都會收到美國營銷公司Distinctive Assets提供的非官方奧斯卡大禮包。今年的禮包價值16萬英鎊（約合人民幣137萬元），其中包含價值17600英鎊（約合人民幣15萬元）的加利福尼亞北部奢華的失落海岸牧場3日住宿，10年的補氧化妝品供應（38000英鎊，約合人民幣33萬元）以及明星健身教練Alexis Seletzky的10節課程（1200英鎊，約合人民幣1萬元），所以沒拿獎也不全是壞事兒。

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.

落選者還可在夏威夷陽光燦爛的考艾島南部海岸豪華別墅度假6天，而想要拜訪喬治?克魯尼的人可以選擇意大利科摩湖邊特雷麥梭大酒店的3日住宿，價值每晚800英鎊（約合人民幣6800元）。

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).

但是事情可沒那麼簡單。這份大禮包之所以屬於非官方性質是因爲在美國國稅局進行調查後2006年奧斯卡獎負責人就停止發放奧斯卡冠名的大禮包。

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."

調查員認定，這些豪華紀念品應被視爲收入處理，因爲贈送禮包“不僅僅是出於喜愛、尊敬或者類似動機”。奧斯卡獎的一位發言人對CNN表示：“對人表示感謝後給其增加納稅義務，這似乎不太妥當。”

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.

事實上，這些大禮包一直推廣其中的超高端產品。因此，由Distinctive Assets及其創始人拉斯?法萊領軍的這樣一個利潤豐厚的獨立產業纔會迅速出現，填補市場缺口。

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".

近十年來奧斯卡一直對此睜一隻眼閉一隻眼，直到去年奧斯卡獎主席們威脅起訴法萊及其公司侵犯版權，因爲2016年的大禮包所含的禮品居然包括性玩具、以色列貴賓10日遊以及所謂的“吸血鬼胸部提升手術”。

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，納稅的問題仍然存在。Distinctive Assets提供的禮品一直受到美國國稅局的關注，而16萬英鎊的額外收入可能會讓國庫獲得一筆稅收。不過，落選者還有一線希望：如果他們準備好做出巨大犧牲，將禮品捐贈給慈善機構，那麼他們就可以避免自掏腰包。