Cash prizes for lucky cardholders
The Finance Ministry appears set to start conducting cash and prize draws, rewarding 1,000 lucky credit or debit card holders every month.
According to a decision of the ministry and the Independent Authority for Public Revenue, taxpayers will be awarded a number of lottery tickets proportionate to their card transactions each month. Therefore, if someone spends 100 euros on their card, they will get 100 chances to win a prize, while transactions of 500 euros will earn them 300 entries.
Sources say that the first draw will take place in late October or early November at the latest, with 1 million euros distributed to 1,000 lucky winners. However, the ministry has set aside 12 million euros for prize draws each year, which means that in December – when retail sales peak – there will likely be an 11-million-euro grand draw.
It is noted that each taxpayer can only win once in each month’s draw. This means that if an individual has more than one winning ticket, the amount they win will remain at 1,000 euros and a runner-up will get the remainder.
Crucially, the cash earned will be tax-exempt, will not be considered as income, will have no deductions in favor of the state and cannot be confiscated or used to offset debts to the state.
