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From: slb@drutx.UUCP (Sue Brezden)
Newsgroups: net.legal
Subject: Re: Silly us (tax bites)
Message-ID: <371@drutx.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 21-Mar-86 09:22:19 EST
Article-I.D.: drutx.371
Posted: Fri Mar 21 09:22:19 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 22-Mar-86 21:59:07 EST
Organization: AT&T Information Systems Laboratories, Denver
Lines: 25

>>I assume the lottery winner won $50,000 a year for 20 years, and ended up
>>with $20,000 of the first $50,000 payment.  This may be too much of a tax
>>bite, but it isn't obviously and absurdly so.
>	What's the highest tax bracket in the US? I thought it was about
>50% or so, but I may very well be wrong. Even with state and local taxes,
>I am surprised that anybody only gets to keep 2/5 of their income. 

The highest rate for earned income is 50%.  But lottery winnings are
unearned income.  The bite for that is higher.  (I think up to 75% or
so, but don't quote me.)  

I saw this in Time magazine.  They had a small article on a professional poker
player who just won a long case against the IRS.  They wanted to tax
his winnings as unearned income.  He claimed he damn well earned it.
He got LOTS of money back.
-- 

                                     Sue Brezden
                                     ihnp4!drutx!slb

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      Nirvana?  That's a place where the powers that be and
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                                       --Zonker Harris
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