Winning the lottery usually means the end of any financial struggles, but some lucky players consider that they still have one more thing to do before they can relax and enjoy their prize. Recently, two Powerball players won the jackpot of $588 million which means that they are entitled to cash in on an amount of $293 million. After taxation, those who chose to take the cash option will settle for $192 million, but only if they receive their prize this year. One of the winners decided to rush things, and asked the lottery authorities to release his prize immediately to avoid possible higher taxes in 2013.
The fiscal cliff is looming
The man who won $293 million, has his own reasons not to take things lightly because the fiscal cliff is something that many Americans are currently concerned of. If the Democrats and Republicans don’t reach an agreement before the end of the year, both spending cuts and the tax hikes will occur simultaneously. Only time will tell whether this measures with achieve positive results or not, but for lottery winners there is no upside to such an outcome, which explains why there are so anxious to receive their money.
The debates are raging and both parties try to reach an agreement without making too many compromises, which leaves the door wide open for the worst-case scenario. It is unknown how much will the lottery jackpot be taxed if the fiscal cliff becomes a reality, but the taxes are surely going to increase dramatically. Those with large incomes will be the most effective ones and lottery winners fall in this category, which gives them plenty of reasons to ask for their money before the end of the year.
$10 turned into $200 millions
Very little details are known about the lucky winner from Phoenix, except for the fact that he’s in his 30s and married. The man purchase the ticket in a suburb and kept it under the seat of his car until he saw the numbers and realize that he is the winner. Given the fact that the laws in Arizona state that any profits made are equally shared between the wife and the husband, the massive jackpots will be split into equal parts. There is plenty of money to go around though and if the sensitive issue of taxation is avoided, the two of them have plenty of cash to live carefree.
The jackpot was rolled over 16 times before the two lucky winners finally took it down, and made them the largest Powerball winners ever. The man spent only $10 for a couple of tickets and even declined the cashier’s offer of spending the entire $20 bill, but this didn’t prevent him from winning the jackpot.
More Lottery News:
About Joe Knapp
Hello, my name is Joe and you can find me on Google+. I`m lucky enough to be a part of LotteryCrunch.com’s fantastic team and an editor of LotteryPros.com at the same time. Every day we are looking for the best lottery draws, attractive offers, interesting events, latest news, lucky winners’ stories and hot promotions in order to make a life of the lottery players easier. Serving you is our constant priority!
