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You'd have to pay taxes on the iterest it bears while in a bank account.
In other words, you "have to pay taxes" on gains that somebody else has reported to the IRS?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nocontengencies
If it was going to be such a hardship to lose food stamps, why would he take the risk? If so many are doing with out this to avoid humility, do they really need it?
Nobody "really needs it". Food stamps are a distribution of the wealth of the nation to those whose quality of life would be beneath a dignified threshold that a civilized society believes everyone is naturally entitled to. Nothing is gained if one form of dignity is just traded off for another.
(I think you meant "to avoid humiliation". There are already way too many people in this country who are avoiding humility, which is the whole problem.)
In other words, you "have to pay taxes" on gains that somebody else has reported to the IRS?
Nobody "really needs it". Food stamps are a distribution of the wealth of the nation to those whose quality of life would be beneath a dignified threshold that a civilized society believes everyone is naturally entitled to. Nothing is gained if one form of dignity is just traded off for another.
(I think you meant "to avoid humiliation". There are already way too many people in this country who are avoiding humility, which is the whole problem.)
This is not about people addicted to gambling, nor is it about societal resolutions to addictive behavior. Nor is it about whether distribution of food stamps constitutes theft from people who work hard. It is about a person who bought a one-dollar lottery ticket and won an undisclosed amount of money.
The answer is:
Yes, by law, it is income that needs to be reported, but if it is a one-time distribution of a modest amount, nobody will make a big deal over it not being reported, and the worst that will happen in the real world, if it is detected at a future date, is that the ineligible benefits (food stamps) will have to be paid back for the month in which the income was received.
If it is less than a normal worker's ordinary income for a month (say, $2,000), just blow it off and don't say anything about it. If it is substantially more than that, then the state would have a justifiable reason to put you through the wringer and make life uncomfortable for you, but even then, it is unlikely they would know about it unless it is reported to the state by the payer.
Most relevant question: Did you have to provide your Social Security Number in order to collect the winnings? If you did, then assume that it was reported to SS, who in turn will report it to any/all relevant state agencies that have an interest in knowing your income. If that is the case, you WILL hear from the food stamp people sooner or later, who will demand an explanation. But you have plenty of time to think of one. Tell them you went to a casino and gambled it all away, or went to a dentist in Mexico to have implants, or whatever, you'll likely just be talking, at first, to a case workers, who will have the authority to blow it off with a plausible explanation. Government offices are too short-staffed to make a big deal about $200 in food stamps.
Did you know most millionaires don't play the lottery or play scratch off tickets? Go figure.
There are plenty of millionaires who gamble, and no reason to believe that gambling is any less of an addiction among millionaires than in the general population. They just prefer more exciting forms of gambling, instead of lottery tickets. .
The number of millionaires in the USA is so small (less than 2% of the population), it is statistically insignificant, whether they buy lottery tickets or not. If millionaires bought lottery tickets with the same frequency as the general population, it would account for only 2% of lottery sales. And, the appeal of the lottery to millionaires would be negligible, regardless of the chance of winning, since winning a $50 scratch-off would not be particularly exciting to a millionaire or have a very notable effect on ihs lifestyle.
Last edited by jtur88; 03-04-2011 at 03:27 PM..
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