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from the what-if-it-were-in-the-Eastern-part-of-the-state dept.
Man wins $7 million in lottery after buying every single ticket:
Kevin Clark, from Candler in North Carolina, had a hunch that the top $US5 million ($A7 million) prize in the Mega Cash scratch-off game would be won in the western part of the state.
So he came up with an unusual strategy to ensure he got his hands on the lucky ticket – by travelling from store to store and buying every ticket he could find.
Mr Clark spent four hours on his quest to purchase every $20 Mega Cash scratchie ticket he came across in around 40 different stores.
And while it is not known how much he spent in total, it’s safe to say he came out on top after a ticket he bought from a Stop N Go outlet in Swannanoa, North Carolina ended up being the winner.
[...] In the end he decided to pocket a $US3 million ($A4.2 million) lump sum instead of taking the $US5 million as an annuity of $US250,000 ($A350,267) per year for two decades.
After taxes, he was left with a total cash prize of around $US2.1 million ($A2.94 million).
“I had a real good feeling it was going to be in the western part of the state,” Mr Clark said, according to the NC Education Lottery.
However, he said he was still stunned when his tactic paid off.
(Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Monday August 10 2020, @08:48PM (3 children)
“I consider this information interesting” is a very different statement from “not providing that information is lying”.
BTW, with VAT you can just calculate the amount yourself, so you're not even withheld that information; declaring it explicitly just saves you from having to use your brain (or a calculator).
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Monday August 10 2020, @10:53PM (2 children)
Lying is a bit of a stretch, puffery as they say in real-estate is closer - psychologically slipping it under the rug, as compared to providing a civics lesson on taxes at every single transaction would be more accurate.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Tuesday August 11 2020, @07:16AM (1 child)
I don't see how it is puffery either. First, the shop's job isn't to educate me about taxes, it is to sell me stuff. Second, it is far from a secret that there's VAT, unless you are living under a rock, you know it anyway. And third, in the end it doesn't matter whether the tax is directly taken from the price of the good, or later from the shop's profits; in both cases I will end up paying it with the price of the goods. And fourth, I have no idea what lessen it should teach me anyway.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Tuesday August 11 2020, @12:52PM
That is a far more common way of existence than you might believe - I knew a lot of this type [reddit.com] of people when I was in high school - I thought that most of them grew out of it, but it's more likely that I just don't travel in their circles anymore.
As for the presentation, or concealment, of VAT/sales tax on receipts, I don't think it's so much a choice of the shoppes as it is mandated by statute, at least in many places. Around here lesson is one being amplified by "I will reduce your taxes" politicians who make that their primary campaigning point - slaying (or tilting, Don Quixote style at) a big evil tax dragon is much more effective when people see the dragon on a daily basis, directly feel the heat of its breath, rather than the very same dragon which stays concealed in a mountain in the distance - taking the same treasure and hoarding it quietly. On the other end of the spectrum, politicians who want to creep the VAT ever higher do prefer that it remain out of sight, out of mind - which my calling "lying" is a bit much - what I referred to as puffery to arrive at the term lying.
🌻🌻 [google.com]