Winning the New York lottery is worse than you thought

The New York Post reports:

As lottery jackpots grew into the tens and hundreds of millions earlier this month, one thing was certain: If you had won, Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio’s agents would have been first in line to collect from you.

They ensure the state and city get a big piece of the winnings before you see a cent.

That’s because New York state has the highest lottery prize tax-withholding rates in the nation. And New York City also expects its cut of your winnings up front.



The Tax Foundation, a Washington-based think tank, recently examined lottery games and withholding practices in the nation.

The tax watchdog group concluded that New York state and New York City are actually the biggest winners in Powerball.

The state immediately taxes Powerball winnings at the highest state income-tax bracket. It withholds 8.82 percent from your winnings before you see them, and the city takes about a 3.87 percent tax on top of that.

It's for the children... I mean those public pensions...