Comments on: Belmont Track to Dems: We won’t collect your gambling tax http://www.redhampshire.com/belmont-track-to-dems-we-wont-collect-your-gambling-tax/ We need a conversation. Let's get the party started. Sun, 14 Mar 2010 18:34:39 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8 hourly 1 By: Grant Bosse http://www.redhampshire.com/belmont-track-to-dems-we-wont-collect-your-gambling-tax/comment-page-1/#comment-1173 Grant Bosse Fri, 03 Jul 2009 03:56:49 +0000 http://www.redhampshire.com/?p=3042#comment-1173 This tax was never about the tracks, or even Foxwoods or Vegas. It was a backdoor way to lower the payouts for Powerball and Tri-State Megabucks. We have agreements with the other states to not alter the payout schedules on jackpots, but nothing prevents us from taxing it back when they write the check. That's why there's no provision to deduct losses. You don't deduct losing Megabucks tickets from your jackpot winnings. Wait until Maine and Vermont sue us next. This tax was never about the tracks, or even Foxwoods or Vegas. It was a backdoor way to lower the payouts for Powerball and Tri-State Megabucks. We have agreements with the other states to not alter the payout schedules on jackpots, but nothing prevents us from taxing it back when they write the check.
That’s why there’s no provision to deduct losses. You don’t deduct losing Megabucks tickets from your jackpot winnings. Wait until Maine and Vermont sue us next.

]]> By: TimothyHorrigan http://www.redhampshire.com/belmont-track-to-dems-we-wont-collect-your-gambling-tax/comment-page-1/#comment-1169 TimothyHorrigan Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:56:55 +0000 http://www.redhampshire.com/?p=3042#comment-1169 The applicable paragraph says: "The lottery commission and the charitable gaming and racing commission shall withhold all tax due and payable to the state from any payout of gambling winnings." And the rest of the legalese in HB2 states relatively clearly that the actual tax may turn out to be more or less than the withholding. That does seem to indicate that withholding only applies to lottery winnings, assuming it is true that the Charity Gaming and Racing Commission never pays out winnings. Having never won any money at any of our racetracks, I frankly do not know who actually pays the winnings. I do know the lobbyist who (presumably) wrote The Lodge's press release and in my experience he usually gets his facts right. However, the withholding is merely a prepayment. Just like with the withholding of your income tax to Uncle Sam, you are basically just lending Uncle John some bucks which you might get back as a refund after the new year. Ultimately, the winner has to pay up after the end of the current tax year regardless of whether or not any bucks at all were withheld. And it is a good bet that the state will know who the winners were and how much they won. The applicable paragraph says: “The lottery commission and the charitable gaming and racing commission shall withhold all tax due and payable to the state from any payout of gambling winnings.” And the rest of the legalese in HB2 states relatively clearly that the actual tax may turn out to be more or less than the withholding.

That does seem to indicate that withholding only applies to lottery winnings, assuming it is true that the Charity Gaming and Racing Commission never pays out winnings. Having never won any money at any of our racetracks, I frankly do not know who actually pays the winnings. I do know the lobbyist who (presumably) wrote The Lodge’s press release and in my experience he usually gets his facts right.

However, the withholding is merely a prepayment. Just like with the withholding of your income tax to Uncle Sam, you are basically just lending Uncle John some bucks which you might get back as a refund after the new year.

Ultimately, the winner has to pay up after the end of the current tax year regardless of whether or not any bucks at all were withheld. And it is a good bet that the state will know who the winners were and how much they won.

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