Winning Ticket

Two things set New Hampshire apart from other states in the way it raises revenue. It is the only state in the U.S. that neither has nor is contemplating a general sales or income tax. It is the only state that does have a legal lottery.

The New Hampshire sweepstakes this month is two years old. In that time, the state has grossed $10.5 million from the sweeps at $3 a ticket. After paying off winners (highest individual payment so far: $100,000) and covering operating expenses, it has distributed $5,255,000 among local school districts. The lottery has enabled New Hampshire to increase state aid to public education by more than 50%.

Close to 90% of the tickets have been bought by out-of-staters, most of them from neighboring New England states, New York and New Jersey. Seeking to expand that market, the sweepstakes commission has sent an investigator to Europe to explore the possibility of selling tickets there. Meanwhile, other state legislatures are showing interest in having lotteries of their own. New York's legislature has approved one; voters will pass on it in the fall. New Jersey, where Governor Richard Hughes was unable to get an income tax through, is now considering a lottery bill. Vermont,

Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Kentucky, Florida and California have all recently either dispatched groups to New Hampshire to study the operation or sent letters of inquiry.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.