Why should lottery winnings be taxed but not inheritances over a million dollars?

Inheriting money is nothing more than someone giving money to you.

You need to look at what money really is - it's a medium of exchange that we all agree has value, nothing more. At the base, money is just a bunch of "IOU"'s for services rendered.

Given that we don't allow debt to be passed down from generation to generation (we can all see that's goofy and unfair), why do we allow for money to be passed down like this? It's nothing more than a generalized form of debt that is owed.

So my point is - yes, Inheritance should have the crap taxed out of it.

The lottery is found money, actually given by all the people who have bought lottery tickets and wasted their money on them. The winner didn't earn it.

With an inheritance, that money was already taxed, as it was earned over time. Taxing inheritance is punishing people who saved and had a goal. Worse, we know the money collected by all these new taxes will do nothing for the debt, and the Government will continue to waste colossal amounts of money instead of thinking things through.

1/2 of every lotto ticket sold goes to the prospective State, and the remaining 50% is spent on Lotto expenses and The the Jack Pot, So The State wins the Jack Pot every day, and Then Takes 30% of the winnings from the lucky Winners of any thing over $500. To answer you question, Every Rich person will be leaving their Millions to their family, only a very Few Lucky Poor will win the Lotto. The rich do not feel they have to pay their FAIR share of Taxes, They Are Rich after all!

Generally, inherited money is not taxed. If the estate is worth more than 5 million, that portion over that number is taxed at 45% (current proposal) and is paid by the estate, not the recipient. The theory is that the money has already been taxed, taxes paid by the holder of the estate. In a lottery, the money paid has not before been subject to tax.

Because someone worked, and paid taxes to garner that money that will be inherited. There's a huge difference between winning a lottery and receiving an inheritance... money that's already been taxed.

Because the person who bestowed the inheritance paid taxes on it while they were alive. You can't tax something 2, 3 and 4 times.

agree with the first answerer.they more then likely taxed the earnings from an inheritance already

Because taxes have already been paid on the money that was inherited.

Look at it like this, what if you gave your kid a gift for christmas. you went out and bought it paid for it to include sales tax.

Christmas day you give it to her, she opens it and sees a little tag attached to it that says enjoy you gift but if you want to keep it you must send the IRS $15.00 for a gift tax otherwise we will take the gift.

Do you think that is the same as taxing lotto winings?

Inheritances have been bought and paid for.

Lotteries are government scams.