Richard Hatch isn't entertaining, so...
 

this thread must belong in current events. It would be better if we had a stupid human zone but this will have to do.

How stupid do you have to attempt tax evasion when something like half the country saw you win $1million and you were on every radio and tv show for the next year?

Richard Hatch

Since a significant number of lottery winners end up in bankruptcy, this doesn't suprise me a bit.

the lottery thing is more easily understood though. (i have had several as clients over the years.) most of them came from very modest means and won $XXmillion dollars - an unspendable sum of money in their minds. they often don't take into account how the math can really work for or against them. the ones i've seen run into financial trouble follow a pretty simple formula A) tell everyone they know B) buy big new house for them and family members, paying cash of course C) buy the flashy cars and toys they always wanted D) help out family members and friends who have always been there for them. E) invest in their own poorly thought out business ventures or similar ideas a "friend" had. F) somewhere along the line they realize they have a lot less than they started with and start trading or investing in risky ventures to get their money supply back up, thus losing even more. G) take a look at the credit lines they have stretched out and realize they are equal to or greater than what they have left. then they start contemplating the big BK.

my personal favorite is someone i knew who inthe 3 months space that i didn't see them, won a couple million, quit their job, paid off their house and bought another for their mom, and another "vacation home" up north, a mercedes and a hummer ('cuz the wife's gott drive too) and then came to me, because they misunderstood the payout structure and needed a little cash to cover the expenses.


All of which lends itself to:

What would you do if you won the lottery? Let's be more specific, Let's say $5,000,000 (after taxes) falls into your lap.
What would you change about your life?
What would you buy?
Would you give any of the money away?

You're just jealous.

Hatch is advised to warm up by sitting on large-diameter flagpoles.http://www.cellar.org/images/smilies/eek.gif

welcome back, but what exactly am i jealous of?

My first post. Greetings from the UK. You have to pay taxes on Lottery wins in the States? Ouch!

Yes, but we don't have to pay a tax to watch broadcast television.

We just hemorrhage cash so we can have digital cable and not find anything to watch on 500+ channels.

In the multi-state powerball Louisiana is a part of, you end up with a little more than 25% of the winnings if you don't take the annuity.

5 Million isn't very much in L.A. I suppose I'd give some to the tsunami victims, pay off my dad's mortgage, buy my mom a cheap house, build a house in Vietnam near the river where my mother-in-law could stay for free and take care of it for us, fly to Vietnam to stay with my wife until her paperwork goes through, and buy us a decent 4-plex, 2 cars, my hot dog cart and a truck to pull it.

ah, the take care of the family syndrome. for me, i think i would not change that much.

I like my job, so i wouldn't quit. i would probably build my next house a little bit nicer than my current one, but i wouldn't pay it off, just the mortgage route for me thank you. i would cough out the $250,000 a charitable group i know needs to get running. pay off mom and dad's house and my sister's student loans. invest the rest and have fun with 50% of the earnings every year. of course, i would stipulate in my trust that my kid, love him as i do, can't lay a finger on any of the money until after his 30th birthday (other than college expenses, and those limited to 4 years.)

Quite true. But very few watch the state sponsored crap on BBC anymore. We just hemorrhage cash so we can have digital satellite and not find anything to watch on 500+ channels.
:biggrin:

We did a thread on why if you won the lottery.
Welcome to the Cellar saganista, it's better than TV. :biggrin:

Suckers, here in Canada we don't get taxed on TV or lottery winnings.

Except our lotteries, when they hit 12 million, are about as big as they're gonna get.

And our television tends to suck the knobbly balls of Satan.

But we steal your satellite signals for free!

*sings anthem*

We have to pay taxes on a lot of stuff in the US... I'm learning in my tax class that many of us should be paying tax on a lot of stuff that just doesn't seem like taxable income.

If you obtain illegal income, you're supposed to pay taxes on it. Talk about self-incrimination!