Guaranteed Winners This May, the Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Betting Act, which had made Las Vegas the only state in which bettors could gamble on college and professional sports. Imagine how much louder your neighborhood sports pub will get when the obnoxious drunk at the end of the bar who won’t stop jabbering about his fantasy team is actually putting his money where his mouth is!
Dozens of states are expected to legalize betting within the next few years. Naturally, there will be winners and losers. The American Gaming Association estimated that legal sports betting will generate up to $26.6 billion of economic activity and 152,000 jobs. Walmart and Target will make millions from fans converting their winnings into giant TVs. Even a few old- school backroom bookies will manage to hang on — they can offer credit, so they don’t have to start kneecapping until some poor loser fails to pay. But there’s one group we can count on to win big no matter who else loses, and that’s the federal, state, and local tax collectors sharing the juice from the new action. Gambling winnings are taxable just like any other income. The IRS doesn’t care who wins or loses; they just want their share. Winnings are taxable as ordinary income — you don’t pay any more if your favorite quarterback connects with a Hail Mary than you do for hitting blackjack at the casino. The biggest winners can even find their good luck pushing them into higher tax brackets. Gambling losses are deductible, but only if you itemize (which eliminates about 90 percent of taxpayers), and only up to whatever amount of actual winnings you report. That means
that if, at the end of the year, you’re in the black, you’ll owe tax on your winnings — but if you’re in the red, there’s no deduction for your loss. That gives Uncle Sam the perfect “heads I win, tails you lose” proposition. (Odds are good that whoever said the only way to win at gambling is to beat the house never saw how the IRS rigged the game!) Of course, the IRS won’t be the only tax collector profiting from this cash explosion. State treasuries, which generally start with federal adjusted gross income or taxable income for their own collections, will also share the bounty. State and local governments may impose their taxes directly on gambling activities as well. And they’ll collect even more in sales and liquor taxes from bettors flocking to sports bars and other venues. Here’s a proposition we bet you’ll like. Bring us your taxes and challenge us to help you pay less. You literally can’t lose. Call us today at (440) 340-1030 and see how much you’re losing — you can’t win if you don’t play! Fortunately, there was ample time for visiting historical places and for sightseeing: we hiked a portion of the Great Wall; admired the 2,000-year-old terra cotta warriors in Xian; were amazed at the energy, style and elegance of Shanghai; happened to be on Tiananmen Square on the 29th anniversary of the 1989 protesters standing in front of the tanks; and admired the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. We enjoyed the utmost hospitality of our hosts and made new friendships in every city we visited. Overall, I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to visit China. I’m looking forward to not only serving more Chinese clients in the future, but also to going back with my husband and our four kids sometime soon! P.S. Friend me on Facebook to see more than 500 pictures and videos of my trip! –Borbala Banto, CPA -Borbala Banto, CPA
... Continued from cover Was this trip for business or pleasure?
As a trade mission group, we visited a good number of manufacturing companies, but also CPA and law firms. We also met with representatives of local governments and civic organizations and made contacts with individuals and businesses who can potentially refer us work in the future. As they say, the money is in the follow-up!
3 (440) 340-1030
Made with FlippingBook Annual report