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1 Alicia Hansen, Options for the Future of Vermont's Lottery: Testimony before the Ways and Means Committee of the Vermont Legislature [i] (2008)

handle is hein.taxfoundation/taxfaaud0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Options for the Future of Vermont's Lottery Testimony Before the Ways and Means Committee of the Vermont Legislature by Alicia Hansen January 16, 2008 First, I would like to thank the Committee for inviting me to speak on this topic. When Governor Douglas proposed leasing the Vermont lottery, he followed a dozen other states that have considered leasing or selling their lotteries. His plan to lease the lottery to private investors for 40 years for an upfront payment of $50 million plus an annual revenue stream has met with significant opposition, as has happened in the other states where this idea has been proposed. The Tax Foundation believes the best course for Vermont is to sell-not lease-the lottery for a one-time payment, levy sales taxes on lottery tickets, and otherwise remove itself from the lottery business. We do not believe any state should be in the lottery business, whether it runs the lottery itself or leases it to a private company; the lottery is simply not an appropriate business for the government, no more so than running a casino would be. Running a lottery puts government officials in an awkward position: they must act like CEOs trying to maximize profits while at the same time being mindful of the integrity of the state. We believe these two goals are mutually exclusive. Gambling is an activity many citizens disapprove of, and one that can cause health problems and financial ruin. A full third of Vermonters voted against the referendum that started the lottery. While citizen disapproval certainly does not mean an activity should be prohibited, it does mean that the state should think twice before offering, advertising and profiting from that activity. Vermont's lottery agency is an independent agency rather than part of another state department. In some states, independent lottery agencies are quasi-public, and many states do not require lottery agencies to abide by the same rules and regulations that govern other state agencies. This even extends to salaries: In Tennessee, the lottery CEO received over $700,000

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