Will the Puerto Rico Powerball winner pay Federal tax? Nobody knows

Comment #29

BellasBMWLucki — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 03:06:09 GMT

my pie, you're right.

I've love taking a drive to see mi familia sometimes en pennsylvania,because when we win,no tax taken out in PA.,

NJ one day feasibly might do away with that...Time will tell...

However,i think it is so nice the P.R.familia whoever he or she is won,so quick.

Isn't it true P.R.just won such right to have it played there?That is nice.

So congrats!

adios

Comment #28

KY Floyd — Tue, 17 Feb 2015 17:58:09 GMT

Ex post facto applies only to criminal laws. If you do something on Monday and a law makes it illegal on Tuesday you haven't committed a crime and can't be prosecuted for what you did on Monday. Similarly, if you did something that was a misdemeanor on Monday and a law that takes effect on Tuesday makes it a felony, you can only be charged (and penalized) under the old law that makes your crime a misdemeanor.

Several years back the state of NJ passed a law somewhere around summer that retroac... [ More ]

Comment #27

DoctorEw220 — Tue, 17 Feb 2015 01:57:37 GMT

They wouldn't be able to make them pay taxes on income earned before the law would be passed. That's in the constitution (I believe the term is Ex Post Facto ).

Comment #26

JoeBigLotto — Sun, 15 Feb 2015 13:05:41 GMT

I had a dream last night and in my dream I received a solution to solve this tax problem. The solution is that the Puerto Rico winner has to pay the higher federal tax of 30percent for people that win outside continental USA but because purto Rico has exemptions the federal government will refund Puerto Rico state their 20 percent so the federal government keeps 10 percent Puerto Rico keeps 20 percent the winner keeps 70 percent this will be a new rule called a split tax system hope IRS is readi... [ More ]

Comment #25

larry3100 — Sat, 14 Feb 2015 22:21:57 GMT

Now that someone won the Powerball in Puerto Rico, I wouldn't be surprised that the federal government would pass a law that states that anyone winning a top prize in the Powerball game, must pay federal taxes on that win, even if it's retroactive.

Comment #24

KY Floyd — Sat, 14 Feb 2015 17:03:31 GMT

The good news: USVI residents do not file returns with, or pay taxes to the IRS. More good news: there is no USVI state income tax.

Bad news: USVI residents file returns with, and pay taxes to, the Virgin Islands Bureau of Internal Revenue, using the same forms and rules as those of us who file with the IRS, and they pay the same rates.

Comment #23

Gleno — Sat, 14 Feb 2015 15:32:23 GMT

Not for nothing, but we should have the problem of worrying about the Feds collecting their income tax from the lucky winner in Puerto Rico.

Maybe that's why it's called the Rich Port.

Comment #22

DoctorEw220 — Sat, 14 Feb 2015 15:03:55 GMT

I would make the MUSL report how much each lottery put towards the jackpot, divide it by 3, and tax them only on what Puerto Rico gave, since that was income earned from within the territory.

Comment #21

nina09 — Sat, 14 Feb 2015 14:23:54 GMT

The USA has imposed a tariff and cabotage in P.R , we are exempt from federal income tax but we are paying it in other ways those benefits don't come out of the goodness of the USA heart.

The winner of the jackpot can remain anonymous if he wants to in P.R

Comment #20

dallascowboyfan — Sat, 14 Feb 2015 12:20:33 GMT

I wonder if the Virgin Islands have the same tax issue

Comment #19

FlamingoGirl — Sat, 14 Feb 2015 07:18:46 GMT

Wow, first time ever in PR

Comment #18

MonEl — Sat, 14 Feb 2015 05:14:15 GMT

I don't know why the tax is in question, it is black and white so to speak, the lottery ticket was bought on Puerto Rico and if the person who owns the ticket is Puerto Rican then as the source is local, it is federal tax FREE, Why even ask anybody about it? It could not be clearer than it is.

After all the law says so.

Reminds me of: Military Intelligence .

Since when, Does the military have intelligence? I thought that they were as dumb as they come.

Comment #17

TheGameGrl — Sat, 14 Feb 2015 04:34:39 GMT

Thank You Ky Floyd for the explanation. Makes sense.

too many people do not understand Territory laws/regulations verses , Federal regulations.

The Puerto R Lottery will get its cut from the winner.....so its sorta like Uncle Sam in a way.....

Looking forward to the winner coming forward..or do they have annonimity

Comment #16

KY Floyd — Sat, 14 Feb 2015 04:26:03 GMT

The winner bought a ticket from the Puerto Rico Lottery. After coming forward and having th ticket validated they will be paid by the Puerto Rico Lottery from an account that's owned and maintained by the Puerto Rico Lottery. The other PB states will contribute their share of sales to the Puerto Rico Lottery, but won't pay a dime to the winner. The tax issues are exactly the same as they'd be if somebody earned a dividend from a Puerto Rican corporation that made money by selling its products to... [ More ]

Comment #15

JoeBigLotto — Sat, 14 Feb 2015 03:12:17 GMT

Well I have a good idea what will happen but b4 I say it am surprised that powerball moved the game to Puerto Rico without laying down the rules on tax that is strange the tax rules should have moved to Puerto Rico b4 the game slips to even play now people are saying we not sure. Well when it comes to tax the bigger tax is considered b4 the smaller tax. Since the bigger tax is the federal tax I think the player has to pay that to continental America because this is a federal game and for state t... [ More ]

Comment #14

HaveABall — Sat, 14 Feb 2015 01:47:21 GMT

, Romancandle, the Puerto Rico Lottery Headquarters didn't care about taxes before joining the Powerball lottery game! [Oh, well, ho hum ... you have to possess a ticket to win.] That probably instilles a lot of faith from their gambling citizens and visitors, doesn't it?

Hum, what other vital details didn't they care about

Comment #13

Romancandle — Sat, 14 Feb 2015 01:14:16 GMT

You gotta be kidding me... They haven't sorted out the tax implications yet

Comment #12

HaveABall — Fri, 13 Feb 2015 21:43:11 GMT

OldSchoolPa, why do you want to solve empowerment of women by sending more desperate women into a long-term job of prostitution and inevetable severe diseases and various abuse situations? Do you hate/disdain females (children and adults)?

I believe the few women that are truly empowered, should be left alone by other folks ... to enjoy that rare lifestyle.

Comment #11

HaveABall — Fri, 13 Feb 2015 21:39:29 GMT

mrlottojackpot, did you mean to type: wouldn't be hard

Comment #10

mrlottojackpot — Fri, 13 Feb 2015 19:13:54 GMT

i would have to say it would be hard to live there 183 days out the year all u have to do is run from hurricanes a month or two other then that ur good.

Comment #9

dpoly1 — Fri, 13 Feb 2015 15:31:44 GMT

This is a smart move on the part of Puerto Rico

Comment #8

kreative1 — Fri, 13 Feb 2015 15:13:08 GMT

I think this paragraph is interesting.....

This peculiarity has been a magnet for U.S. millionaires, who increasingly are finding ways to spend at least 183 days a year on the island in order to become a bona fide resident and benefit from Section 933 of the U.S. tax code, which exempts residents of Puerto Rico from paying U.S. income tax on their Puerto Rico-sourced income.

Comment #7

haymaker — Fri, 13 Feb 2015 15:13:07 GMT

Watch for the Feds to pull a Jersey on em

Pulling a Jersey on em = making a retroactive tax when they realize how much $ they missed out on.

That's how our 10.8 % state tax on lottery (the highest in the country) got started.

Or since Puerto Ricans are exempt from paying Federal taxes on local income they'll say

it's not local income since the $ came from all the states that are involved in the game.

One way or another Uncle Sam will get his cut... [ More ]

Comment #6

Gleno — Fri, 13 Feb 2015 15:06:42 GMT

Giving a further thought on this issue, in my opinion, the income was not technically generated from the local economy but from the Power Ball game which is based in the states.

Also,the people in Puerto Rico collect Federal benefits so don't see how this windfall would be exempt income , from Federal income taxes.

Comment #5

dpoly1 — Fri, 13 Feb 2015 14:57:50 GMT

Very interesting

Comment #4

maximumfun — Fri, 13 Feb 2015 14:50:23 GMT

What are the odds that the federal government will give up 25%+ to 39% of 1/3 of that ticket's value? LOLOL yeah right.

Comment #3

Gleno — Fri, 13 Feb 2015 14:45:32 GMT

Bet the Fed's will now decide real quick about a decision on collecting their Federal Income tax

Comment #2

OldSchoolPa — Fri, 13 Feb 2015 12:59:40 GMT

If America elected me president, there would be no IRS or tax on income of any kind. I would also legalize marijuana on federal level as well as prostitution. That is how you solve income inequality, prison overcrowding, and empowerment of women.

Comment #1

mypiemaster — Fri, 13 Feb 2015 12:53:10 GMT

I hope he/she is exempt. America should do away with taxes on lottery winnings{NICE TRY/WISHFUL THINKING}. A lot of countries around the globe do not tax lottery winnings but I have a feeling that the good ol' U.S. of A, will be the last to go that route.

Will the Puerto Rico Powerball winner pay Federal tax? Nobody knows

Lottery Post — Fri, 13 Feb 2015 12:31:27 GMT

For the first time ever, Puerto Rico has a Powerball winner with a whopping $188 million jackpot. And the island is celebrating.

The winning ticket holder will get one-third of the $564 million jackpot, the third-largest in Powerball history and the fifth-largest U.S. lottery prize.

But one mystery remains will the winner pay federal taxes on the prize, or will he or she be exempt, as has always been the case there? Lottery officials in Puerto Rico said they still have no answer to that qu... [ More ]