what is your opinion of raising taxes on ........?

Question

what do you think about raising taxes on cigaretts, alcohol, and luxury items? are you pro or con and why?

you keep mentioning sin taxes
what do you mean?

Answer 1

100% con. What is the purpose? Do we want to discourage people from smoking or drinking? I thought we lived in a free society where we get to make our own decisions. What business is it of the government's if I decide to have a cigarette?

As for the luxury goods, we tried that once with disasterous results...remember when Clinton put the "luxury tax" on things like large boats? The result was completely predictable: People stopped buying so many large boats. The result was that lots of workers who made their living making boats lost their jobs.

Answer 2

This becomes much more of a USE tax than a sales tax, and I'm all for it. If you do not smoke or drink, then you are not subject to the tax. The upside is that it brings in new revenues for the taxing authority, but the down side is the backlash of the people. However, I've heard of few people who actually stopped buying these items because of the tax. The tax on things like the above however should partly go to fund programs that assist those harmed by the products, such as cessassion programs, or medical programs.

As for luxury items, it is a slightly different category. Things like boats, autos and planes are not always used as a luxury. Yes, high priced items are not affordable to most, but why should someone pay more for a car simply because the price tag is high? If you live on a boat you buy, should you pay tax at all? You don't pay tax when you buy a house? High priced cars that get a luxury tax is unfair in a sense because the buyer is paying sales tax. If they want to spend money, they should not have to pay more simply because of the price.

Answer 3

Sin taxes are largely a waste of effort. As the rate goes up, the total revenue often drops since consumption drops. More correctly, people find other outlets to purchase the items at less tax such as black marketing or buying across a state line with a lower tax. Liquor and tobacco sales in border areas in MO along the AR border are very high due to the higher AR taxes on tobacco and booze.

Sin taxes disproportionally affect the poor, another strike against them.

Answer 4

I think tax things that don't provide to social "needs".

There are jobs and career's that do not add value to a society. You have heard about 1000 dollar umbrella's, Gold plated faucets, etc. There are people with very good talents that could be more useful in other fields.
Say you have four products, one of them is obviously obsolete but you cannot phase it out because it is cheaper, but not efficient. What makes it cheaper because it has been established in production. For an example, Water Heaters, we could save thousand, if not millions of dollars if we taxed the water heaters, like the tanks that heat up 50gallons of water.
There are already Water Heating Systems that do not heat water in large tanks, such as the instant heat Monitors. They save lots of fuel because they only heat up when they are in use. My parents had one for years and they swear by it.
We could reduce the tax on the efficient water heaters and raise the taxes on the inefficient heaters. The investors would invest heavily to make more money because of the potential to make a good profit from a reduced tax. The businesses would invest heavily to sell as many as they could.
It is the investment dollar that is difficult to obtain when you have a good product but cant compete with a long established product.
The fluid of investment and the growth of market innovations would stimulate society for high growth.
Now for sin tax, I am happy to be off cigarettes, tired of coughing and tired of loosing my health. I am fine with raising taxes on cigarettes, as long as the taxes go to helping people quit the habit. When it goes to the general funds, then the government will not try to kill it but keep it alive enough to collect the taxes. Buy some tabacco seeds and grow your own. Alcohol tax is not going to kill you unless you are a heavy drinker.
Taxes should also not be raised to just provide a government job. The government is the most inefficient means of running an economy. The Soviet Union proved you cannot use government to govern people. Those that are in the government want a bigger fatter check. Government will establish itself as more important than its supposed to protect. This is something you learn in History. The biggest Unions in the United States is the Federal and State Governments. Guess who pays for it?
This it the problem.. The government is not supposed to be a burdon on the working people. The government should not implement laws to keep businesses hiring so many office workers.
We are a country that is paying too much out to keep people behind desks. There is so much regulation that business has to hire people to comply.
When more people are producing, it would make a better society. Innovation prevents stagnation of growth. Investment in innovation makes real wealth, not making 1000 dollar umbrella's and Gold Faucets for a bunch of rich smugs, and taxing us to death for the establishment of government regulations..

Answer 5

Oh boy, touchy subject. We are already tax and insurance poor. Property taxes, income taxes, sales tax, school tax, etc... If the government wouldn't waste so much of our tax dollars on idiotic things luxury tax wouldn't even be necessary.

Answer 6

Not wild about sin taxes in general, but better sin taxes that relieve property taxes on the elderly, or on milk and bread than the alternative.

Answer 7

This irritates me. If the government wants money they should tax something everybody uses. Why do we keep on taxing people who smoke or drink?

Answer 8

My opinion? Flat tax -->http://carlmoeller.com/2007/04/17/tax-day-special-getting-your-money-back-uncle-sam-more-complicated-ever