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Slovakia has created a national lottery. There is no fee to enter; you enter by sending receipts for merchandise purchased that have a tax ID # on the receipt. The gov't then checks to see which receipts have fake numbers, and fines the merchant who didn't send in the tax. The lottery is becoming hugely popular – merchants hate it because now everyone is demanding receipts, whereas before the merchant could often avoid the fake number by not issuing a receipt.

It was estimated that previously 80% of value added taxes (their version of sales taxes) were avoided, and now tax revenue is way up. Apparently the lottery prizes are pretty good, too.

Hup

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/20/world ... world&_r=0" target="_blank

Hi-
Read the new book "Capital in the 21st Century" by Thomas Piketty. Truly one of the GREAT books written on economics. 700 pages, but a great read. The truth in print....
Mark

snorlax wrote:This practice is evil.
What they SHOULD have done to bring about prosperity was to raise taxes on business and productive individuals with large incomes.
The historical record reveals many instances where government has taxed a nation into blossoming prosperity.

In one sense I agree with you: Sales taxes and the like are regressive taxes. I prefer progressive taxes. But what is worse (evil, if you prefer) is collecting them and then not sending them in. How would you like it if you found that the sales tax you paid was being kept by the merchant? I would gladly participate in a lottery to expose that illegal practice.

In the US many utilities collect "phantom taxes." These "taxes" are itemized on the customer invoice as a tax, collected by the utility, but then through some clever bookkeeping, never forwarded to the government. Because the process is legal, no tax lottery can solve it. This process is pretty evil too.

Hup