Lottery currently at $1.6 billion prize monies

In the US, do lottery tickets also have to have a large portion go to good causes?

In the UK 25p per £ has to effectively go to charity. That's equivalent to a tax.
 
muon said:
In the US, do lottery tickets also have to have a large portion go to good causes?

In the UK 25p per £ has to effectively go to charity. That's equivalent to a tax.
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No they don't, though I'd disagree that that is equivalent to tax. In the UK 12% goes to the state, that is equivalent to tax. In the US a portion of the prize pool goes to the state(s) offering the lottery too (thus why they're happy to offer it). Does seem a bit cheeky that some states then throw in a tax on the winnings on top too.
 
dowie said:
No they don't, though I'd disagree that that is equivalent to tax. In the UK 12% goes to the state, that is equivalent to tax. In the US a portion of the prize pool goes to the state(s) offering the lottery too (thus why they're happy to offer it). Does seem a bit cheeky that some states then throw in a tax on the winnings on top too.
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I missed the 12%

So 25% goes to charity and a 12% goes to the government. So 63% goes to the winner/operator.

Quite a few deductions that people don't immediately realise are losing here in the UK when comparing to the US.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Lottery_(United_Kingdom)

As stated in that article, the 25% is arguably a stealth tax as it funds charitable things the government don't then have to fund.
 
muon said:
I missed the 12%

So 25% goes to charity and a 12% goes to the government. So 63% goes to the winner/operator.

Quite a few deductions that people don't immediately realise are losing here in the UK when comparing to the US.
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There are deductions in both cases, in the US 60% of the funds raised go towards the prize fund, in the UK it is 53%
 
muon said:
The prize fund already has 40% deductions and then tax is applied again?
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Depending on the state and the residence of the winner, yes - the deductions include profit for the operator, the ticket vendors and some money for the individual states. The Federal government haven't had any tax from it for example, some states (most) will apply a tax on the winnings too about a dozen don't.

If you're a UK resident and you happened to win after buying a ticket in say California then you'd not pay state tax as California is happy enough with the funds it already accrues from the lottery and you would be able to claim back federal tax thanks to the UK and US having a tax treaty.
 
A2Z said:
Just imagine winning... your whole life would change in an instant...
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Most people would not have the faintest inkling to how to even begin to think about it.

Me, I would build a small Nuclear power station and change my name to Mr Burns!

:D

(Something like a GT-MHR with a side order of hydrogen production feeding into a synfuel LPG plant)
 
It'd be a curse to some, especially the weird lengths some in the US have gone to steal the prize from a winner.
 
I won $2 on it. I am gonna try again! I mean now its over a billion its worth while buying that ticket.
 
A2Z said:
Just imagine winning... your whole life would change in an instant...
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yeah, knowing my luck i'd realise i'd won and have a heart attack :-/

think i'd want an anonymity clause on that, can only imagine the begging letters and potential ransom threats that might be made if you suddenly land that sort of dosh.

"Not if you’re not a US resident and from a county with a tax treaty." does the US allow winners from other countries? i'm sure i read the Powerball didn't, back when that hit some idiot amount a few years ago; some company immediately appeared where you could buy tickets online and then it was pointed out they'd all be invalid due to that clause.
 
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