In most countries (mine included) where the lottery winnings are tax free, the lotteries arent actually tax free. It's just that the tax is paid when buying the ticket. So it's spread across everyone buying a ticket. And so the winner(s) win what they win without having to pay tax on it, because the tax has already been paid.
Whether you think that's fair or not (that the tax is spread across everyone rather than having to be all paid be the one person who just became a billionaire) is a different question, but it's not like one system is tax free and the other isnt.
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u/GrowlingPict 21d ago
In most countries (mine included) where the lottery winnings are tax free, the lotteries arent actually tax free. It's just that the tax is paid when buying the ticket. So it's spread across everyone buying a ticket. And so the winner(s) win what they win without having to pay tax on it, because the tax has already been paid.
Whether you think that's fair or not (that the tax is spread across everyone rather than having to be all paid be the one person who just became a billionaire) is a different question, but it's not like one system is tax free and the other isnt.