A tax on hope

I read a great phrase last year that lotteries were a tax on hope. So I tried to find out where that came from. However, it proved to be a very tricky phrase to track to the source.

A GoogleScholar search found a number of articles which used the phrase, including:

"lottery tickets are like a tax on hope: secretly we all dream of winning the jackpot, and when we don’t, we feel cheated or unlucky" (Iñiguez, 2023, p. 48-49)

That while governments have a range of tools to raise capital, a "common factor remained cashing in on gambling to generate revenue" with the "state as gaming house keeper" which could then "lev[y] a 'tax on hope'" (Zollinger, 2016, p. 35); with a footnote "This notion, however, was usually applied to lotteries" (p. 35)

"State-run lotteries are sometimes referred to as a 'stealth' tax, a 'tax on hope,' or a 'tax on the poor.' A breakdown of the revenue distribution from each ticket shows that a significant percentage is almost always taxed by the state" (Hadzi-Miceva-Evans, 2009, p. 77). Sadly, the footnote for the quote points us to a rotten link (Hansen, 2005)

Lottery ticket sales are ubiquitous in Italy, with Italians considering "them as a sort of tax on hope [...] and we all have hope" (Waugh, 1997, 692)

US magazine, Taxes, explained that charging citizens taxes based on their future share returns was a "tax on hope" (Richard, 1957, p. 818).  

So the earliest I found was the 1950s. I was so sure there must be earlier appearances: largely because this phrase sounds so very Victorian. That kind of judgy-holier-than-thou sanctimony that people in long skirts can carry off so effectively. Interestingly, it seems that "the more states [or governments] need money, the more tolerant they are of gambling" (Zollinger, 2016, p. 35); presumably as that means to raise funds which are outside the income or GST/VAT system. Those who gamble may not think through to the logical end: that state-sanctioned gambling is still a form of taxation; instead, gamblers see it as a 'chance'. 

However, I think my desire to associate the phrase with the Victorians is misplaced. It seems that the source may well be Bertrand Russell. While he was a Victorian baby (born in 1872), in 1951, he presented a talk to "the corporate customers" of a printing company called Hazell Watson & Viney, "comparing the reach of books to that of broadcasts" (Leal & Marraud, 2022, p. 2, citing Blackwell & Ruja, 1993, p. xxxix), hoping that:

The BBC's new "Third Programme [might] so stimulate the intellectual life of the nation that it will read more books than ever before. Let us hope so, since as yet there is no tax on hope" (Blackwell & Ruja, 1993, p. xxxix; Leal & Marraud, 2022, p. 2). The 'third programme' was an educational channel tasked with delivering science and factual information to the nation, funded by the taxpayer. So it appears that 'a tax on hope' may not have originally referred to lotteries, but to the use of public money to develop the intellect of the national UK population.

Bertrand Russell had such a gift for language that I am happy to attribute this fine phrase to him. Of course the saying may pre-date him: I will stay vigilant for an earlier version in print, but I feel that I may have found the originator. 

"I love it when a plan comes together" (Hasburgh & Cannell, 1983). 

 

Sam

References:

Blackwell, K., and Ruja, H. (1993). A bibliography of Bertrand Russell (Vol. I). Routledge.

Hadzi-Miceva-Evans, K. (2009). Lottery Proceeds as Tool for Support of Good Causes and Civil Society Organizations: A Fate or a Planned Concept. International Journal of Not-for-Profit Law, 12(4), 71-79. https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/ijnpl12&i=376

Hansen, A. (2005). Lotteries are another state tax—but with better marketing. The Tax Foundation. https://taxfoundation.org/lotteries-are-another-state-tax-better-marketing/

Hasburgh, P. (Producer), & Cannell, S. J. (Writer). (1983). The A-Team Series 1 [Lt.Col. John "Hannibal" Smith catchphrase]. NBC.

Iñiguez, S. (2023). Philosophy Inc: Applying Wisdom to Everyday Management. Palgrave Macmillan.

Richard, D. (1957). In This Issue. Taxes - The Tax Magazine, 35(11), 818-821. https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/taxtm35&i=838

Waugh, D. (1997). The Die is Cast. Canadian Medical Association, 156(5), 692. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1232840/pdf/cmaj_156_5_692.pdf

Zollinger, M. (Ed.). (2016). Random Riches: Gambling past & present. Routledge.