In Indiana, a new law now requires Indiana casinos to withhold gambling payoffs to deadbeat parents. The State is now trying to implement an online tracking system that will allow casinos to check the names of people against a separate database of people who owe child support. The program is expected to go into effect in 2011.
The catch is that only those people who win enough money to trigger federal tax reporting forms will have to go through the check. Casinos give W-2G tax forms to people who win $1,200 or more from slot machines. There are other limits for other types of gambling.
Once the new system is online, a casino will check a winner's name when it issues a W-2G tax form. The casino will be able to check a real-time data bank from the Indiana Department of Child Services to see whether the person owes child support. Further, State taxes will first be taken from the winnings.
Indiana hopes to collect $1.2 million once the program is running. A representative states that 300,000 to 500,000 checks of winners will yield only about 400 people who owe back child support.
This sounds like a good idea to me! I previously blogged about the consequences of one's failure to pay California child support here.
If you are faced with an Orange County child support issue, contact a reputable Orange County child support attorney to immediately discuss your options.
