FT 13.02 – Poor Tax Abolition Act (Awaiting signature)

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

AN ACT
to stop robbing the poor to feed the rich

Section 1 (Title & definitions)
i. The title of this Act shall be, the "Poor Tax Abolition Act." It may be cited as "PTAA."
ii. "Lottery" in this legislation shall refer to the practice of selling numbered tickets and awarding prizes to holders of numbers drawn at random, as well as to all other schemes wherein cards or tickets are sold and prizes are awarded to some holders.

Section 2 (Abolition of the lottery)
i. No state or other jurisdiction of Frémont shall operate or draw revenue from a lottery.
ii. All existing state and municipal lotteries are hereby disbanded.

Section 3 (Precluding complicity)
i. No revenue generated by a lottery shall be paid into the treasury of the Commonwealth.

Section 4 (Implementation)
i. This legislation shall take effect with the Fiscal Year of 2020.

Sponsor: Harry S Truman, Speaker

The member from North Dakota has the floor.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Right. Pure and simple: the lottery is a scam and a regressive de facto tax on the poor. While I'm not one to travel the "taxation is theft" railway, it's hard to see state and municipal lotteries as anything other than a legal form of robbery wherein a corporate body authorized by the state lies and cheats people out of their money. That those who play the lottery are disproportionately poor makes the practice all the more despicable.

There are better ways to fund public services than by robbing the intended recipients of welfare. As Frémont is assuming responsibility for funding all vital services, these lotteries no longer have any reason to exist, and should be abolished.

[AustralianSwingVoter]

Though I certainly share the concerns, I still would far rather lotteries being run by governments and the proceeds going to helping people rather than them being run by private corporations with the proceeds helping the CEO buy another Yacht.
So then might we consider banning all large lotteries in addition to this? Or repurposing public lotteries in some way to eliminate the de facto taxation?

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Though I certainly share the concerns, I still would far rather lotteries being run by governments and the proceeds going to helping people rather than them being run by private corporations with the proceeds helping the CEO buy another Yacht.
So then might we consider banning all large lotteries in addition to this? Or repurposing public lotteries in some way to eliminate the de facto taxation?

The question is then how far would you go in banning gambling?  I'm not a fan of lotteries personally, but they are in essence a gambling scheme and to me it would not make logical sense to ban all lotteries but allow, for example, casinos.

I am okay with the bill in its current form.  If non-minors wish to gamble with their money that way that's fine, but the state should not be encouraging that behavior and it is nothing short of insulting for the government to take advantage of financially desperate people in the name of helping them.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

I get where the member from Washington is coming from, but ultimately share the first minister's concerns with re: "where is the line?" if this were expanded to a blanket ban on all lotteries. Personally, I don't care for gambling and objectively speaking, the gambling industry is hardly less than predatory. But unless we're going to ban all gambling, I don't see how we can abolish private lotteries, and a blanket ban creates its own problems (are we going to throw people in prison for betting on the outcomes of sporting events or card games played among friends?). I'm willing to be convinced, but I'd need to see a stronger proposal for how this would work.

One thing I would be willing to consider as a separate bill would be a legal requirement for casinos and similar establishments to post a disclaimer to the effect of "this is a scam and we are robbing you blind," though I imagine our libertarian friends would have a lot to say about that.

[raymundoflx]

I agree with the content of the bill, our main objective should not be to institute a ban on all lotteries effectively banning gambling. Not only is that unrealistic and unnecessary, it will just create more problems that did not have to exist in the first place. The bill presented by the Speaker is one I believe goes an appropiate effort to solve these scams, again making a "blanket ban" will just create even more problems with private lotteries and such. For the reasons listed I will be supporting this bill.

[Pericles]

This is as far as I'm prepared to go on limiting lotteries. I'm slightly unsure about the wording for Section 3, "No revenue generated by a lottery shall be paid into the treasury of the Commonwealth.", my suspicion is that this is worded so that it accidentally gives private lotteries tax-exempt status, which I'm pretty sure is not intended. Maybe I'm overthinking this, if not Section 3 should be amended. I am unsure with Truman's idea for a lottery disclaimer, and idk how effective it would be since it seems most people know they are highly unlikely to actually win the lottery. The overall bill is good though, and the lottery is effectively a regressive tax.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

We seem to have reached a consensus as far as disbanding state lotteries over a blanket ban on all lotteries, so I'll set the latter proposal aside for now, with respect to the member from Washington.

I am unsure with Truman's idea for a lottery disclaimer, and idk how effective it would be since it seems most people know they are highly unlikely to actually win the lottery. The overall bill is good though, and the lottery is effectively a regressive tax.

This is obviously a discussion for another time, but I would briefly submit that even disregarding the flatly dishonest marketing by casinos and similar establishments aiming to convince potential patrons of the contrary, the odds against beating the house are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the ways the gambling industry steals from people.

I'm slightly unsure about the wording for Section 3, "No revenue generated by a lottery shall be paid into the treasury of the Commonwealth.", my suspicion is that this is worded so that it accidentally gives private lotteries tax-exempt status, which I'm pretty sure is not intended. Maybe I'm overthinking this, if not Section 3 should be amended.

We can amend the language if the members feel it necessary, but I would argue that money raised by taxing private lotteries is not revenue generated by a lottery, but revenue generated by taxation.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

I move for a final vote.

[Pericles]

Truman's explanation satisfies me with regards to the wording, I have no objection to a final vote and will support this bill.

[Saint Milei]

This is an interesting bill. So the goal is to remove government getting money from the lottery? Are you also removing the sales tax on purchasing a ticket?

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

This is an interesting bill. So the goal is to remove government getting money from the lottery? Are you also removing the sales tax on purchasing a ticket?

Frémont repealed the sales tax a couple of years ago, so done and done!

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Seeing no objection, we proceed to a vote. Members will vote Aye, Nay, or abstain. Voting will last 48 hours or until all members have voted.


Aye!

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Aye.

[AustralianSwingVoter]

Aye

[Pericles]

Aye

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

With four votes in favor and one not voting, the resolution passes.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

AN ACT
to stop robbing the poor to feed the rich

Section 1 (Title & definitions)
i. The title of this Act shall be, the "Poor Tax Abolition Act." It may be cited as "PTAA."
ii. "Lottery" in this legislation shall refer to the practice of selling numbered tickets and awarding prizes to holders of numbers drawn at random, as well as to all other schemes wherein cards or tickets are sold and prizes are awarded to some holders.

Section 2 (Abolition of the lottery)
i. No state or other jurisdiction of Frémont shall operate or draw revenue from a lottery.
ii. All existing state and municipal lotteries are hereby disbanded.

Section 3 (Precluding complicity)
i. No revenue generated by a lottery shall be paid into the treasury of the Commonwealth.

Section 4 (Implementation)
i. This legislation shall take effect with the Fiscal Year of 2020.