Question of the Day - 26 October 2022

While you're sitting there with your machine's lights flashing, waiting for the slot slug to get back to you with your ID and paperwork, you're not playing. You're saving money. Order a drink. Smile!

I mean, imagine how little we'd all lose if the W2G threshold was five bucks!!!

In 2017, the pari-mutuel industry (race tracks) managed to change the interpretation of the cost of a winning bet, which resulted in a 90% reduction in the number of W-2Gs issued.  

For example, a 4 horse trifecta box that cost $24 previously was considered 24 separate $1 bets.  Now the entire $24 is subject to the 300 to 1 threshold.  So now payoffs over $7,200 generate a W-2G, where it used to be $300.

Maybe the casinos should employ the same lobbyists that the race tracks used.  

I think the idea of raising the threshold for a W-2G is a good one, BUT it will never pass on its own.  A rule revision needs to pass the old-fashioned way, by slipping it into a bigger bill.  If there's something in it for the House leadership (since revenue bills originate there) in one of their favored bills, it could happen.

As the old aphorism goes, people who love sausage and the law should never watch either being made. 

"BUT it will never pass on its own"  

Wonderful, but what did pass was 87k more agents to enforce it all. And they all voted against not bothering low to middle income people which many gamblers are. Which party passed this btw, who's in control? Nice job Lewis and crew on your voting and judgement. 

"Doc," how can your gang rant about high taxes but also rant about funding IRS efforts to collect delinquent taxes and enforce tax law? Illogical.

FYI, the money being funneled to the IRS is expected to produce a 500% ROI. I thought the party of fiscal responsibility (snort) would welcome that.

500ROI? oh sure, sure, if your buddies said it, it must be true then, right? Like inflation is transitory. Everything is great. Gas prices are temporarily high, not our fault, just buy an electric car and shut up. Pols never lie. So hey, got ocean front property for you lewis in the mid-west, and given I said I have such property, it must be true :) So back to w2g's: you agree with your crew that most working taxpayers and gamblers, mostly middle and lower class earners are dishonest and need 87k agents on their backs, especially those evil lower and middle class workers and gamblers who hide their w2g statements? In regards to parties, unlike yourself, I trust neither. But in the view of many, having 2 sets of inept's looking after each other seems to be needed as your one crew rule has lost complete trust by the vast majority of the nation in every category with how many things they have messed up in the eyes of the majority.

How a question about what gets reported to the IRS turned into a partisan snipe session about who's fault the woes of the world are is really amazing. But I think the important thing is what you mentioned in the last paragraph. The government (doesn't matter who's in power) wants as much money as the law entitles it to get. So increasing the reporting threshold is something they would like to avoid.

Tax obligations exist on all gambling winnings, regardless of whether a W2-G is issued or not. So if they raised the threshold to $5000 and you won a $3000 jackpot, you'd owe exactly the same amount in taxes as you would have had the threshold not been raised.

So as far as "the government wanting to get all the money it can" goes, if taxpayers are honest, the presence or lack of a W2-G doesn't mean anything. And the fact that so many taxpayers are dishonest is why more funding has been allocated to the IRS for fraud detection and enforcement.

"about who's fault the woes of the world are is really amazing."

Not sure where you've been living Ray or if you are that disconnected on the ways of our nation and how it works but gov policies and who's in charge indeed makes a BIG difference on policies that impact ALL of us including gambling, how the economy impacts las vegas from gov policies, prices of food in vegas, on and on. And it's not about the "world", it's about right here, what impacts you and me and us, in Nevada and the US. Notice the QOD mentions "IRS" and "Congress" "legislation"?  Gambling tax policies are no exceptions as such policies are set by whom? Yep, the gov which involves amazingly, politics and politicians. Crazy, I know. So for gamblers, including w2g matters past and present and future, which includes hiring 87k agents to enforce it all are intertwined with politics directly and assuming you gamble, politics and gambling are indeed one. Didn't think someone had to explain the obvious but here we are.  

define Trump in one word: TRAITOR