The Lottery Casino Tax

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The Lottery/Casino Tax

Americans are often blamed for not saving enough money throughout our lifetime. Social Security’s financial crisis is well documented and each year, there are changes to when the system will ‘run dry’. Personal savings are inadequate. We’re told that tax increases are required to fill the void between what we have and what government will need to pay us upon retirement. It’s our money, but that’s a story for a later date.

The reality is, that the lotteries and casinos are a tax. They hurt those that need the money the most. Note the following odds:

Dying in a car accident: 1 in 6000 in a given year.

Getting hit by a meteorite: 1 in 7,000,000

A female giving birth to natural quadruplets: 1 in 15 million

Odds of winning the mega-million: 1 in 175,711,536.

Lotteries are a tax. Casinos are intended for fun and enjoyment, but their contributions to society are a source of great debate. When you consider the opportunity cost lost from their location on land better served for the private sector, the fact that they’re built with tax payer dollars and that the only way they are a success is if tax payers lose their shirts, it points to one thing. Casinos are a tax.

Take away the business aspect. March 3-9th, 2013 was Gambling Awareness Week. This is intended to assist those that have gotten addicted to the casinos that the tax payers have built.

Don’t tax yourself more than you should. Take those dollars that are spent every day, throw them in a jar and deposit them at the end of the month or year. Over a lifetime, or even a decade, you will be much better off.

Mark Schuster, Partner

April 5, 2013

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