The IRS ruling in such matters is that the prize is yours once it is
awarded to you by winning the drawing. If you refuse it, you are
gifting it back to the casino (which may or may not now have to pay
taxes on it, depending on several factors), but you are still liable
for the tax on it since it was given over to your possession, and
whatever brief period of time, you had control and ownership of it.
From the tax law point of view, you entered into a contract by
entering the drawing in the first place--and proceeds from the
performance of a contract are taxable income. The casino performs
its part of the contract (which is between them and all the
participants in the drawing) by drawing a (your) ticket and giving
the winner the prize.
So if you can't possibly use the prize, and you don't think you
could sell it (which I doubt, if it's transferable, given Craigslist
and EBay, but, whatever), then you should not enter the drawing at
all, since you are liable for the taxes the moment you win the prize-
-whether or not you eventually claim it (presuming the casino's
rules for the drawing don't state that the prize is awarded to
someone else immediately if you don't claim it).
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch format to Traditional
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe
__,_._,___
