Our local pub is starting a lottery syndicate and the organiser has said that everybody must sign an agreement which is then dated, put in a sealed envelope and posted back to the organiser, this we were told is because in the event of a major win everybody apart from the ticket holder would have
to pay inheritance tax (unearned income) unless they could prove that they were originally part
of a winning syndicate.
Is this correct ?? I ask this because a few of the people have objected to having their names and address put on a document which is held by somebody else (I don't have a problem with it myself)
I would have thought any signatory on the document should have a copy of the finished document..
You need a document to ensure you get your winnings as a large win can make people do strange things. This way you have an enforcable document so everyone gets their share and you won't have to pay tax on your win.
Thank you both for your answers, I should have thought to look on the lottery web site, but that takes
common sense ( something I seem to be lacking ).
but for the life of me I cannot see why people are objecting to having their names and address's put
on a syndicate agreement bearing in mind they would be the first ones to moan if they won a fortune
and was asked to pay tax on it !!!
The potential problem is that if there is no proof of the syndicate then the ticket holder would get the money, and the others need proof that they are entitled to a share.
Also, without a syndicate document, even if thje ticket holder did share out the winnings there might be an inheritance tax liability if the ticket holder died within 7 years.
Much better to have the documentation drawn up for the protection of all the syndicate members.
Panic Button, how can it be that I am not going to win?, Mystic Meg told me I was in for a big win in a ''private reading'' that I bought for ONLY £60. from her web site. (I hope you are not jealous of my forthcomming win)
And Rollo thank you for your interesting answers, I will have to look further into inheritance tax laws on winnings from syndicates,
Pigletion, very good point I will look into that as well (as I am expecting a huge win before Christmas)
Inheritance tax is a tax on death. It has absolutely nothing to do with lottery winnings directly. The reason for a syndicate (other than as potential proof on entitlement to a share in the first place) is because otherwise it would be taken to be a gift from the ticket holder who actually claims to all the other members. As such there would be a potential inheritance tax issue if that person subsequently died within 7 years. If you have a syndicate agreement that problem goes away.
All of which is just another way of saying what Rollo already did of course.