"McMike" (mcmike)
08/01/2014 at 08:24 • Filed to: Ford Friday
6
53|
"McMike" (mcmike)
08/01/2014 at 08:24 • Filed to: Ford Friday | 6
| 53 |
She has two jobs, two kids, an unemployed boyfriend, and 27 million dollars. Which of these things do you think will survive the weekend?
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
This hardworking, single mom is Michigan's $66 million lady.
A 24-year-old Port Huron woman hit it big, winning the Mega Millions jackpot in June and hauling in a lump sum of $27 million after taxes, the state's lottery announced Thursday.
"When the clerk at the store told me I had a big winner I was positive that he was mistaken," Zachow said in a statement. "There was a long line in the store behind me, so I decided to leave and looked the numbers up on MichiganLottery.com when I got into my car. That's when I realized I had won the jackpot and could barely breathe."
Zachow raced home with the winning piece of paper and shoved it into the hands of her boyfriend, Billy Bartlett.
Her beau of three years has been unemployed for nearly a year.
Later in the article...
"I have always wanted an electric blue Ford Mustang, and one day I will get one, but helping my family live comfortably comes first for me," Zachow said.
In an other article, it said that Zachow hired a lawyer and financial planner before collecting the money to ensure that she handles it wisely.
macanamera
> McMike
08/01/2014 at 08:36 |
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Hopefully, the two kids?
TurboSloth
> McMike
08/01/2014 at 08:37 |
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66 million turns into 27? What the hell are the tax rates?
Mattbob
> TurboSloth
08/01/2014 at 08:39 |
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looks to be about 59% for the lump sum.
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McMike
> TurboSloth
08/01/2014 at 08:42 |
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I'm going to go with 59%.
thebigbossyboss
> Mattbob
08/01/2014 at 08:45 |
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Canada doesn't tax winnings.
We are awesome.
Jeff-God-of-Biscuits
> TurboSloth
08/01/2014 at 08:46 |
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I'm pretty sure that when you win a lottery, you get a choice of full amount over time or reduced lump sum.
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Mattbob
> thebigbossyboss
08/01/2014 at 08:48 |
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so they don't tax the few people who win the lottery, they just tax the shit out of everyone else?
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McMike
> macanamera
08/01/2014 at 08:48 |
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LOL, yeah. Definitely the kids, definitely the money.
Now about those jobs and the unemployed boyfriend......
STREPITUS
> TurboSloth
08/01/2014 at 08:49 |
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She took the lump sum option which is considerably less than the jackpot. She would get the full $66M (pre-tax) over the course of 29 years had she gone that route, but the single payment is whatever the cash in the jackpot pool is at this particular point in time, which I'm guessing was about $40M (pre-tax). The tax rate for lottery prizes that big is about 30% federal + 4.35% Michgian state.
davedave1111
> thebigbossyboss
08/01/2014 at 08:49 |
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Do you tax the ticket purchases instead? If so, that's the same thing. In the UK our National Lottery winnings are tax free, but that's because the government already took its cut before the money went into the prize fund.
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macanamera
> McMike
08/01/2014 at 08:54 |
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Boyfriend to Girlfriend: "I love you. Let's take the next step."
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McMike
> macanamera
08/01/2014 at 08:58 |
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Boyfriend to Girlfriend: "Can I borrow some money for the ring?"
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thebigbossyboss
> Mattbob
08/01/2014 at 08:58 |
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*disclaimer* I know wayyy too much about this.
Our top federal income tax rate is 29%. The US's is 39.6%.
Your move!
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thebigbossyboss
> davedave1111
08/01/2014 at 08:58 |
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I.....don't know. I must find out!
ttyymmnn
> TurboSloth
08/01/2014 at 08:59 |
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Winnings like this are taxed at a ridiculously high rate. But I'd take $27M free and clear any day.
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ttyymmnn
> McMike
08/01/2014 at 09:00 |
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I'm sure she'll invest it wisely and live comfortably and frugally for the rest of her life on the returns.
E92M3
> macanamera
08/01/2014 at 09:01 |
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Too late for him. Had he married her already the winnings would be considered marital property, and would be equally divided should they get divorced. You know he's still sweating it though if he will get to ride this money train.
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ttyymmnn
> Jeff-God-of-Biscuits
08/01/2014 at 09:02 |
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That is usually correct. I have heard that you are always best to take the lump, but I don't know exactly why. Might be tax reasons, but I can't see how you could come out worse than 59%. But before she buys that car, she's gonna need a lawyer.
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McMike
> ttyymmnn
08/01/2014 at 09:08 |
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Refreshing. Usually, the young winners go nuts and the press conference is nothing but high-fives and them answering questions on what they are going to buy for themselves.
She sounds like she has her shit together.
duurtlang
> McMike
08/01/2014 at 09:09 |
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How is she a single mom when she's got the same boyfriend for three years?
MonkeePuzzle
> McMike
08/01/2014 at 09:11 |
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aww, can't just do 3 months of his salary?
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McMike
> duurtlang
08/01/2014 at 09:12 |
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Potato, potatoe. Everyone has a different definition of what "single" means, I suppose.
They very well could have a serious commitment with joint responsibilities, accounts, and be acting like a married couple. Maybe he's a deadbeat? Who the hell knows?
I think the article referred to her as a "single mom" because she's not married, and because it will get more clicks than "24 year old woman wins lottery"
buford-t-justice
> thebigbossyboss
08/01/2014 at 09:15 |
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Yes we are! But if we take the lump sum it is a bit less, I think the cash for life if you get the lump sum its like 1.25 mill
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buford-t-justice
> thebigbossyboss
08/01/2014 at 09:16 |
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Its the provincial taxes that get us
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thebigbossyboss
> buford-t-justice
08/01/2014 at 09:18 |
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Especially in this province.
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duurtlang
> McMike
08/01/2014 at 09:23 |
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I think the article referred to her as a "single mom" because she's not married
What is this? The 1950s?
Never mind though, I'm merely nitpicking. You only copied the title.
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Mattbob
> thebigbossyboss
08/01/2014 at 09:23 |
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Whats the median rate?
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thebigbossyboss
> Mattbob
08/01/2014 at 09:30 |
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Federally it's 22.
Rico
> ttyymmnn
08/01/2014 at 09:30 |
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Zachow hired a lawyer and financial planner before collecting the money to ensure that she handles it wisely.
She's already on the right track, some people don't do this and a broke within a year or 2.
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Mattbob
> thebigbossyboss
08/01/2014 at 09:32 |
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for both?
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ttyymmnn
> Rico
08/01/2014 at 09:35 |
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Good for her.
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Rico
> ttyymmnn
08/01/2014 at 09:40 |
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I'd definitely do that and hire someone to invest at least a quarter of the money, buy up some properties to fix up and rent out and keep that income flowing for the rest of my life. 2 Weeks ago on the news a 22 year old kid in NYC hit the lotto for like 20 million, smh I wish I was him!
yamahog
> duurtlang
08/01/2014 at 09:41 |
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If you're not married, you are single for tax purposes.
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thebigbossyboss
> Mattbob
08/01/2014 at 09:41 |
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Not really sure. Like the US there is such disparity in the populations of the provinces and territories. For the "median tax rate" from a statistical stand point it would really only matter what the two big provinces (Ontario & Quebec) did. Combined those two provinces account for 64% of the population.
Basically if you earned the average wage (about 44,000) in the most populous province, (Ontario is about 1/3 of the total population and also one the highest taxed jurisdictions) your marginal INCOME tax rate is 31.15% combined.
You still would have to pay property tax, and then point of sale taxes.
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Mattbob
> thebigbossyboss
08/01/2014 at 09:44 |
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boo taxes, hooray cars. I think we can all agree that regardless of taxes, if we won 60 million we would buy some sweet cars. I'm off to go do some work.
Roundbadge
> McMike
08/01/2014 at 09:52 |
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Agreed. In the most technical sense, I'm single in that I'm unmarried. My girlfriend and I have been together since 2003, living together since 2006. We just haven't had the party yet.
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yamahog
> McMike
08/01/2014 at 09:53 |
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I'm just a 24-year-old lady with no Mustang and no lottery :(
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duurtlang
> yamahog
08/01/2014 at 09:53 |
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I'm not familiar with US tax legislation, but are those the only two possibilities? Anyway, it's very strange to me to label someone single when they're in a three year relationship but that just might be my non-American perspective.
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yamahog
> duurtlang
08/01/2014 at 10:01 |
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Basically, but we have a few more distinctions for filing status:
Single
Married filing Jointly
Married filing Separately
Head of Household (The Head of Household status generally applies if you are not married and have paid more than half the cost of maintaining a home for yourself and a qualifying person)
Qualifying Widow(er) with Dependent Child.
Sidenote: this is part of the reason why federal marriage equality has been such a civil rights issue in this country. Before same-sex marriages were recognized, same-sex couples would effectively be paying a "lesbian tax" by not receiving the tax benefits that married straight couples receive. Same with interracial marriage in the last century.
dsigned001 - O.R.C. hunter
> duurtlang
08/01/2014 at 10:29 |
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because he's not the father? And just because they've been together a long time doesn't mean he's involved with raising the kids.
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duurtlang
> dsigned001 - O.R.C. hunter
08/01/2014 at 10:36 |
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I think it makes little sense to argue about people neither of us know, but:
Zachow raced home with the winning piece of paper and shoved it into the hands of her boyfriend , Billy Bartlett.
In my interpretation they're living together. That's something I perceive as not being single, but as was just explained to me she might be considered 'single' for tax reasons.
JEM
> McMike
08/01/2014 at 11:20 |
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"In an other article, it said that Zachow hired a lawyer and financial planner before collecting the money to ensure that she handles it wisely."
Good for her and great to see someone in the news thinking intelligently about things.
Also, her boyfriend doesn't look like much of a deadbeat, more like an out of work IT or sales guy. Maybe he's doing the Mr. Mom thing since he's out of work?
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McMike
> JEM
08/01/2014 at 11:26 |
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That guy is with her mom (and her 2 year old little brother).
This is her boyfriend.
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JEM
> McMike
08/01/2014 at 11:29 |
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Oh ok. Well based on the above pic, my comment still seems appropriate!
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McMike
> JEM
08/01/2014 at 11:39 |
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Kid does construction.
Note: Not that has any weight on if he is a deadbeat or not, or has any weight on anything at all. Maybe he sold his construction company, and is living off the money? Maybe he saves his money and is living off that? Maybe he flips cars for some income? Maybe he does small handyman work for cash? Who the hell knows? He is the father of her youngest child, and probably isn't going anywhere. I may or may not know more about this story than I should.
All know, is I bet he wished he put a ring on it BEFORE she won the lottery.
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JEM
> McMike
08/01/2014 at 12:07 |
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Hmm... un-employed construction could mean he was laid off and getting unemployment, which would make him staying home to take care of the kids really plausible, and good financial sense for them.
Obviously, I have no clue, just speculating about shit on the internet because it's fun.
And yeah, I bet he really wished he put a ring on it!
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McMike
> JEM
08/01/2014 at 12:20 |
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Exactly. Let's speculate some more.
Young and poor, they probably would have not had any sort of prenuptial agreement in place.
Now, she's thinking about her children ( and her two year old brother) and planning for their future. No way she's getting married now without one. Hell, I wouldn't even get married now if I was her. I'd make him go to work every day in order to get health insurance.
Maybe she'll buy him a sweet 18v DeWalt tool set.
Miles Teg
> McMike
08/01/2014 at 19:41 |
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So she's not interested in safety, performance, control, or looking smart.
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Miles Teg
> TurboSloth
08/01/2014 at 19:45 |
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The way the lottery works is you can take the $66 million in installments of a hundred or so thousand a year for 20+ years, or take a much smaller lump some sum now. Most Americans, not being very smart people, take the lump sum. If you take the installments, the tax rate is much lower, so you get more of the money.
Atomic Samurai Robot
> TurboSloth
08/01/2014 at 19:49 |
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Choice is lump sum or 30 annual payouts. Lump sum was $38 million before taxes, which is the current value of the annuity.
Philbert/Phartnagle
> McMike
08/02/2014 at 14:59 |
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"In an other article, it said that Zachow hired a lawyer and financial planner before collecting the money to ensure that she handles it wisely."
Sounds like this young lady has some good common sense.
I'd say the jobs go bye bye first, with the boyfriend being a possible second dump.
Sir HoonsAlot
> McMike
08/02/2014 at 20:20 |
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Taxes strike again. 66 to 27 seriously?
Buick Mackane
> TurboSloth
08/02/2014 at 21:01 |
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She probably took the "cash option" plus you must instantly pay 25% Federal Tax on your winnings.