Q: In the Olympic medal count, there is a category called “Independent” listed with all of the countries that have won medals. Who is this and how do they compete without representing a country?
—Brian Freeman, Lawrenceville
A: Athletes who compete as an independent generally are those from Olympic programs that have been suspended by the International Olympic Committee or are from countries with unstable political situations.
Athletes have competed as independents since 1992.
Kuwait’s Fehaid Al-Deehani won a gold medal in the double trap shooting competition this year as a member of the Independent Olympic Athletes.
It was the first gold for an independent athlete.
This year’s independent team consists of Kuwaiti athletes because the Kuwait Olympic Committee has been suspended and can’t compete in the Olympics.
Independent athletes in past Olympics have come from Yugoslavia, Macedonia, East Timor and South Sudan, among others.
There also was a Refugee Olympic team at this year’s Games, with athletes from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Syria.
Q: For the second time this year, and once last year, we have received phone calls, supposedly from the IRS. We know the IRS never calls. We have kept the number from where this call came. Can you please print again where we can report this scam?
—Christine Haslam, Roswell
A: Contact the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 800-366-4484 or fill out the form at treasury.gov/tigta/contact_report_scam.shtml.
You can also contact the Federal Trade Commission at ftccomplaintassistant.gov.
The IRS will not call to “demand immediate payment or call about taxes owed without first having mailed you a bill.”
Andy Johnston with Fast Copy News Service wrote this column. Do you have a question? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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