These days you can purchase a gift card at almost any establishment and Americans have caught onto the idea. Each year Americans spend about $65 billion to purchase gift cards, and perhaps even more shocking is $6.8 billion in gift cards go unused yearly!
 
Many retailers simply count unused gift cards as income after the expiration date or after a certain amount of time of inactivity. This is particularly attractive since no merchandise is lost and no service is performed- it is free money. According to a WSJ article, many States who are in budget deficit are now trying to pass legislation to consider unused gift cards abandoned property. This would allow States to confiscate the funds and use them to balance their budget.
 
Make sure to keep track and use your gift cards because you still lose out no matter if the governemnt or retail store takes your money.
 
Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124605742408663533.html