HARTFORD, Ct. — Connecticut state Senator Carlo Leone (D-Stamford) said Thursday that the Senate has approved a bill he co-sponsored that would deduct delinquent taxes from certain awards paid to Connecticut Lottery winners.
"Allowing lottery winners who don't pay their taxes to collect prizes without contributing what they owe is unfair to everyone else who plays by the rules," said Senator Leone. "Our state is in the middle of a fiscal crisis, and we are asking everyone to sacrifice in order to resolve it. Neglecting to collect overdue taxes from large-prize lottery winners is a big oversight. This bill will resolve it."
House Bill 6270 would require the Connecticut Lottery Corporation to compare the name of any winner of a lottery prize of $5,000 or more against a list of delinquent taxpayers compiled by the Department of Revenue Services. If the lottery winner is found on the list, the amount of delinquent taxes and any other applicable penalties or interest would be deducted from their winnings.
"Several years ago I made a suggestion to pursue balances owed by Child Support Obligors by intercepting lottery winnings. I am not certain of the amount collected over these past several years, but at the outset, my contact at DSS told me that it had collected $600,000 during the first four months of the program," said Anthony Martino, Support Enforcement Officer at the Stamford Courthouse, in testimony offered in support of this year's bill.
Mr. Martino continued, "While it is impossible to check all winners of any ticket, a policy was drafted to seek out those people with winnings of $5,000 or more. The State of Connecticut could apply the same process to those owing delinquent taxes. I feel this would be a winner for the state, which would only be collecting what it is fairly due."
The legislation already passed the House of Representatives late last month. It now goes to the desk of Governor Dannel P. Malloy for his signature or veto.
While I think that this is a great idea, many people have found ways to avoid this simply by having someone else sign the ticket and the collect the winnings. Some people specifically seek out senior citizens or those who don't have jobs to get around paying taxes and having owed monies taken out of their winnings.
I agree Puffalishous.
I hope it works out for the state of CT though. Then again, as with every state, many people who play are living off the government dime anyway and blowing the Governments money on lottery. Too bad they cant make them repay some of that.
I would think that if a person was getting government money and was playing the lottery, they would have to get a LOT. I always thought the average person who plays the lottery makes close to 30,000 per year. After a person pays rent, utilities, buys food and gas, there isn't much left for such purchases...not in this day. Years ago ..maybe. But the state is correct to try to get their tax money. When they come up with a way to cross check ticket purchases against a visual of the actual purchaser then the ability to circumvent the law will come to a halt or when some poor unsuspecting soul will get hit with an IRS lien or state tax lien.
This whole thing should abeen common sense from the gate!!!
Dannyboy has ballz of steel..he is signing just about everything to get some moneys in here.
BTW..hey pumpi..you would really love bills sb1014 and 1015..right up yor alley
It is all well and good for government to get creative in making tax cheats pay up what they owe and then some.
What would really begin to ameliorate the problem however, is government(s) finally realizing (admitting) that the financial crises being experienced on all levels, federal, state and local are not borne of too little tax revenue but rather too much reckless spending.
Our elected officials don't spend their own money recklessly and borrow more, while claiming that spending more will get them out of debt.
But they do it with ours.
Don't think we should justify one's bad behavior upon another's bad behavior...This not only happens with the lotteries but it also happens with casinos and people not understanding or simply caring about their SLOT winnings and forgetting to set aside the money for taxes and always being surprised when their tax filings come due. One thing is assured, the government may not get to it for awhile, but they will sure never forget the filings from the state lotteries and casinos.
"Our state is in the middle of a fiscal crisis, and we are asking everyone to sacrifice in order to resolve it."
'Wonder how much of that "sacrifice" includes their own perks & salaries.
They live good on our dime, don't they !
Good point and who exactly is responsible for the fiscal crisis that "everyone" has to sacrifice to resolve?
THOMAS JEFFERSON BELIEVED THE SOLE PURPOSE OF GOVERNMENT WAS TO SERVE ITS CITIZENS.We do not belong to the government, the government belongs to us.Whenever a government persecutes its citizens, it is no longer a government of the people for the people.IT IS A TYRANNY.
That's right, THRIFTY, and if we can't be free we might as well give it all back to King George and his bloody yeomen as let these scoundrels (our elected officials) destroy us.
If a state can check to see if a winner owes child support and alimony then it can check to see if a winner owes it too.
Don't forget those city taxes, I noticed this year my city removed lottery winnings from the list of non taxable that include pensions, social security and interest on savings and moved it to the list of taxable that include wages and rent from rental property.
I agree, those who owe taxes need to pay up! But, wait a second, don't they take the taxes out of lottery winners' windfall? Apparently, both the government and the winners have a stake in the winnings, since both the winner and the government played the game, the government deserves a cut.......wait........ what am I saying, hands off our money!