In the drip feed of information about the new ‘Fatura da Sorte’ invoice lottery it has been revealed that the number of chances of winning a prize will depend on the value of the invoice submitted.
The Secretary of State for Fiscal Affairs, Paul Nuncio, confirmed today that the draw will be performed based on the overall value of each invoices registered by the taxpayer, so a 60 cent coffee will not be equal to the purchase of a €1,000 sofa, the invoice for the sofa will have more chances allocated.
"It is not the number of invoices, it is the total value that is assigned to each taxpayer" said Nuncio, adding that the draw indeed will be weekly and for upper range automobiles.
What is still unclear at this late stage is the maximum number of shots at the prize each taxpayer gets, and how a coffee compares to a €1,000 sofa.
The Secretary of State said these details will be “published later” which at this advanced stage gives the impression that the rules for this lottery are being made up on the hoof.
Also unclear is what type of car the state is going to supply to lucky winners. It does seem that the prize cars will be new ones, earlier it was said that vehicles seized from recalcitrant taxpayers would be given away. The Secretary of State stated that cars bought as prizes by the state would be done so in compliance with all applicable public procurement rules. Expect delays.
The minister further explained that invoices would be allocated a certain amount of chances depending on their value. This is designed to prevent abusive situations and the artificial dividing up of invoices into smaller amounts.”
Nuncio admitted that there would be additional draws to the weekly one, up to 8 special draws in any one year, and that a greater number of prizes or special prizes would be offered in these 'specials.'
The first draw this year will be in April and will be using invoices issued and registered in January.
The process is being organised by the Tax and Customs Authority in collaboration with the Santa Casa da Misericordia de Lisboa whose cooperation and expertise gives a glimmer of hope that this system will at least function.
Whether there will be the hoped for mass registration of invoices by a prize-hungry public, or whether the new scheme, designed to catch out traders who are under-declaring their incomes, will be largely ignored remains to be seen.
