Taxing Consumption and Other Sins

James Hines

No 12730, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: Throughout American history, the U.S. federal and state governments have imposed excise taxes on commodities such as alcohol and tobacco (and more recently, gasoline and firearms). Rates of such "sin" taxation, and consumption taxation broadly (including sales taxes and value-added taxes), are currently much lower in the United States than they are in Europe, Japan, and other affluent parts of the world. In part, this reflects relative government sizes, but that is not the whole story, since even controlling for total tax collections, levels of national income, government decentralization, and openness to international trade, the United States imposes unusually low excise and consumption taxes. As a result, the United States relies to a much greater degree than other countries on personal and corporate income taxes, thereby affording fewer opportunities to use the tax system to protect individuals and the environment by discouraging the consumption of "sinful" commodities, and instead simply discouraging saving and investment.

JEL-codes: H20 H23 H71 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2006-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-acc, nep-his, nep-pbe, nep-pub and nep-sea
Note: PE
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Published as James R. Hines, 2007. "Taxing Consumption and Other Sins," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 21(1), pages 49-68, Winter.

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