Jump to content

Tax on National Lottery winnings


Tony

Should National Lottery winners be taxed?  

50 members have voted

  1. 1. Should National Lottery winners be taxed?



Recommended Posts

Well, a lotto win isn't an inheritance, I would say it's proceeds from gambling. Last time I checked that carries no tax burden, though I believe it's under review.

 

However, tax is paid on each ticket sold in advance of any win, 12% in duty & 28% to good causes. That would seem to be a good deal.

 

Tax will be paid on any earnings from the the win, the same as with your athlete example above.

 

All in all it seems to balance out quite well.

 

But won't tax already have been paid on money someone inherits through the hard work of their parents?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fair enough. Do you think that filling in a lottery ticket is different from inheriting earned wealth or being taxed 50% of earnings from being an athlete?

 

The house advantage in the lottery is already massive(the most likely prize of £10 pays 9-1 on a 56-1 chance), so people who play it already are paying a lot of tax on tickets bought with already taxed money.

 

If you taxed winnings all you would do is decrease the value of the prizes, and thus the ticket sales.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think the point is more to do with the complaints that people who inherit or earn vast amounts should contribute more. I'm not against people with lots of money being asked to stump up a bit more, but shouldn't the same rules apply regardless of where the money comes from?

 

Q.What is the difference between inheriting £5 million or winning the same amount?

A.40% inheritance tax!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

But won't tax already have been paid on money someone inherits through the hard work of their parents?

 

No.

 

It has been made by the exploitation of the peasantry and hard-working folk such as decent and honest sword-makers.

 

You need a career which exempts itself from taxation.

 

Banditry for example.

 

Or piracy, such as practised by my good friend the Dread Pirate Roberts.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lottery ticket buyers are already being fleeced by the money siphoned off for so called good causes.That's why I would never touch it. We enjoy going to the theater and I understand that has had it's share of lottery cash, but why should ticket buyers subsidize our theater tickets?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think the point is more to do with the complaints that people who inherit or earn vast amounts should contribute more. I'm not against people with lots of money being asked to stump up a bit more, but shouldn't the same rules apply regardless of where the money comes from?

 

Q.What is the difference between inheriting £5 million or winning the same amount?

A.40% inheritance tax!

 

It's already taxed in effect. A massive proportion of the money staked goes to the government.

 

Anybody who wins enough will be subject to taxation on any income from investing their winnings.

 

If a winner gifts money to friends and relatives, and then the winner dies within 7 years then the gifts are taxable.

 

If a lottery winner dies then any winnings passed on to beneficiaries would be subject to inheritance tax.

 

I guess though that some people don't like the idea of money for nothing and would regard a working class lottery winner as lower than a benefit claimant. It's curious that the same people are 100% behind the idea that wealth can be inherited by people who have done nothing to earn it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fair enough. Do you think that filling in a lottery ticket is different from inheriting earned wealth or being taxed 50% of earnings from being an athlete?

 

Yes, because unlike inheriting wealth and being an athlete, the lottery is completely random, no-one has a head start and everyone who enters has an exactly equal chance of winning.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, because unlike inheriting wealth and being an athlete, the lottery is completely random, no-one has a head start and everyone who enters has an exactly equal chance of winning.

 

Aren't the odds of being born to rich parents the same for everyone?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.