Here’s an idea they use in Taiwan to increase State revenue which should cost relatively little to implement. Make each sales receipt into a lotto ticket. When you buy something from a store or restaurant, that receipt becomes a lotto ticket. Consumers will now demand receipts from every purchase and if that register receipt paper with preprinted lotto numbers was created and sold by the State, the State could increase the number of transactions actually being reported. We have all seen or suspected instances where sales were not being recorded. This proposal would eliminate or significantly reduce the number of unreported transactions. Right now, why would a consumer care if the merchant reports the sale. Now, the consumer has a vested interest in getting a receipt and the State wins too.
This program would also encourage people to come and shop in Connecticut since they have a chance to win big for every purchase they make. This would stimulate the economy in addition to increasing reported transactions. Furthermore, you could make this part of a State sales tax increase in an effort to make a sales tax increase more palatable. Since this program would inconvenience retailers and restaurants, give any store that sells a winning ticket a percentage of the winnings. Given the volume of sales of any store or restaurant, they actually will have better odds than most consumers.
The State could hold a drawing on a quarterly or monthly basis. The State could also mail lotto tickets to people who self-report online purchases, bringing in additional dollars from unreported online transactions. The State is already set up to run lotteries so the only new burden would be to print and sell register tapes and sell them to businesses. The cost of doing this could easily be paid for out of increased revenues. While hopefully unnecessary, consumers could even be fined for leaving a store having made a purchase without a receipt if you wanted to enhance reporting and remove incentives to keep transactions off the books.
If you like this idea, please contact one of your state representatives or the governor’s office.