Unclaimed $1.5B jackpot could put hole in S. Carolina budget

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press


Jeffrey Collins, Associated Press
Updated 12:10 pm CST, Thursday, February 14, 2019

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The winner of a $1.537 billion lottery jackpot in South Carolina has yet to come forward. That means the state of South Carolina might be a big loser too.

Economic officials estimated the winner would pay $61 million in state income taxes, and put that money into the budget. That much money could pay for new voting machines or a police officer in every South Carolina public school.

But with the prize unclaimed, the state Board of Economic Advisors is expected Thursday to suggest removing the $61 million windfall from the state spending plan. That's more than 0.5 percent of South Carolina's $9 billion budget in lawmakers' control.

The winner has until April 19 to claim the prize before it's returned to the 44 states that play Mega Millions.

Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Unclaimed-1-5B-jackpot-could-put-hole-in-S-13615519.php

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(Short article, no more at link.)

[NoMoreRepugs]

1. Damn, I just don't know if I want all that publicity.......................

[brooklynite]

22. Actually, SC is a State that doesn't require you to reveal your identity...

[Apollyonus]

2. The winner is probably in the proces

of changing residence to a no-tax state like FL or TX or HI.

[TexasBushwhacker]

4. The feds will take the biggest bite

$61 Million is chump change.

[ToxMarz]

5. State lottery taxes are based on where the ticket was purchased not where you live

So even if you already live in a no tax state, if you bought the ticket in a state that has income tax you would have to pay it there. Consequently, moving after the fact would not help you

[OnlinePoker]

10. I know Canadians who win in Vegas get taxed but can claim most back once they're home.

I wonder if it would be the same with lotteries.

[3Hotdogs]

13. Isn't the tax based on where you bought the ticket?

[cstanleytech]

15. For state taxes I think you only pay the tax for the state you bought it in so moving would

accomplish nothing.

[lildDemz]

18. Avoiding taxes

won't work in HI. Hi has income tax.

[ADX]

3. Shhh...

[catbyte]

6. Dayum, I'd have thought anybody who'd bought a ticket in South Carolina would've checked

their numbers, just in case. Weird.

[oldsoftie]

8. I understand waiting & planning, but you haven't actually WON till the Lottery HAS the ticket!!

I'm afraid I would be down there 1st business day.

[cstanleytech]

16. I bought one over there but no where close to where the ticket was actually sold.

Still it would have been nice to have that kind of money but *shrug*

[oldsoftie]

7. April 19th is a LONG WAY off. They'll show.

[Polybius]

17. Unless they don't know they won

Perhaps they looked at their numbers, checked at 11:00 and it wasn't updated just yet, so they looked at the numbers for the last drawing, thought they lost, and threw the ticket out. This is very possible, especially if they rarely play.

[JI7]

19. or lost it

[Polybius]

20. That's even worse

If they don't know, at least they can't get upset.

[oldsoftie]

24. Both are definitely possible. As I said earlier, you haven't really won till they HAVE the ticket.

All "professional" opinions aside, I would have been at that office the next business day. Made my reservations the night before for somewhere far from home, and hang out there for some time till it died down a bit. Today you can do business & pay bills from anywhere, so lay low and figure out what you're gonna do while you're gone!

[red dog 1]

9. K&R

WTF?

How could someone not know they won a billion dollars on a lottery ticket?

[OnlinePoker]

11. Maybe a Waking Ned Devine situation

The winner had a heart attack when they saw they won and someone is trying to figure out how to claim the prize. Here, you have to know the date, time and location where the ticket was bought and they do a lot of digging (like verifying video surveillance) to make sure the person who claims the prize is the one who bought the ticket.

[brooklynite]

23. Unless the purchaser signed it, the ticket is a bearer instrument...

[red dog 1]

25. That's possible, I guess.

Or, someone could have bought the ticket and then lost it.

[NurseJackie]

12. If returned, where does it go? As "profit" or is it rolled into the next winning jackpot?

before it's returned to the 44 states that play Mega Millions.

If returned, where does it go? As "profit" or is it rolled into the next winning jackpot? If it becomes prize money, is it a lump-sum addition, or do they just bump-up the next few jackpots a little more than normal?

[Massacure]

21. The "profits" of mega millions are paid to the state governments.

The 44 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin islands will each collect a portion of the $1.6 billion dollars proportional to their ticket sales during the time that jackpot was accumulating. What the governments do with it is up to them. Some allocate lottery proceeds toward education, others to their general fund, others as a credit toward property taxes.

[ProfessorGAC]

14. Wow! Surprised

The lump sum of $878 million, and the $61 million budget hole seemed incongruent.
Then I looked up the SC state income tax table.
7% on anything above $14,650 per year!
It's only 4.95% here in IL.
Guess I had SC pictured as something closer to the no state tax places.

[VMA131Marine]

26. S. Carolina has the lowest property taxes in the country

An average of 0.57% (5.7 mills).
But the income tax rate is very high.

[ProfessorGAC]

27. Aha!

Thanks for that. Their sales tax is pretty high too, right?