Will Latest Group Lottery Winner Be Affected by Taxes?
There is nothing quite like winning the lottery. In almost all cases lotto winners go from rags to riches overnight. There is definitely a thrill and exhilaration that comes with becoming an instant multi-millionaire. Who wouldn’t want to win the lottery? Hold that thought. Winning the lottery comes with several possible catches that could lead to tax trouble. In fact, for some lottery winners, the tax fallout is a real nightmare.
The tax headache can be especially big when several people decide to purchase lottery tickets together, as a group, which is exactly what happened to some recent lottery winners in Tennessee. Twenty co-workers won a $420.9 million Powerball jackpot in November, with the lump sum payment being $254 million. Split evenly, each winner will receive $12.7 million before taxes.
However, the first question that must be answered is could this group be considered a real partnership? The 20 winners have been pooling their money together for eight years, so it’s a legitimate question. It’s also an important one as it could make a big difference in how they report it and their overall tax bill.
Another question is could their agreement be viewed as a trust? If the IRS considers it a grantor trust it’s simply taxed as a flow-through. However, if it is a more complex trust that is taxed the same as a corporation the tax headache can be huge and expensive. So, what should you do if you become an instant millionaire? If you ever end up choosing the right numbers, the smartest thing to do is talk with a qualified tax professional before you even collect the money. This will help you avoid several possible headaches.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood/2016/12/01/20-plant-workers-420-million-powerball-win-cleverly-misses-tax-mess/#3a6f0e555f29
Will New Corporate Tax Plans Hurt the U.S. in the End?
The winds of change are blowing when it comes to taxes and corporate taxes are no exception. President Trump and the House are both ready to lower the corporate tax rate in an effort to create a more business friendly environment for U.S. companies here in the states. Currently, the corporate tax system is…
Don’t Get Scammed This Tax Season
Don’t Get Scammed This Tax Season Thousands of people are conned out of money every tax season by scammers. The problem with these scams is that they sound very convincing and if you don’t know what to look for, then you could easily be taken advantage of by one of these con artists. There’s a…
Identify Your Firm’s Future Leaders
Identify your firm’s future leaders; leaders are increasingly being asked to identify the emerging leaders in their organizations. To help in this process, we recently examined 360-degree performance appraisal data on more than 120 emerging leaders from 18 North American companies to see what leadership competencies ranked as important in selecting internal associates for…
Key Elements to Successful Teamwork
Key Elements to Successful Teamwork At our recent leadership retreat our team focused on two topics: Trust and accountability. After reading several books and having lively discussions for two days it became clear that a firm must have trust in order to hold people accountable. This is not a new or difficult concept; however, becoming…