Say 'No' to Sin-Tax

Article:   Roll-your-own cigarette stores going up in smoke


Sin-taxes place a tax penalty on vices.  Vices are easy targets.  They tend to be uniformly accepted as unnecessary and, sometimes, destructive.  Not everyone participates in a particular vice.  Of those who do participate, many will lie about the extent of their participation, even to themselves.  There is often guilt accosiated with participation.

The most common vices include smoking tobacco, consuming alcohol, patronizing the sex industry, and gambling.

All of the common vices are subject to special taxes.  The public accepts this, since most people don't consider themselves to be subject to those taxes, or don't wish to admit that they are.  They see it as a tax-on-others.  They also see the tax as a deterrent to what is commonly seen as deviant behavior.

In the above article, the government has teamed up with big-tobacco to penalize smokers while eliminating a competitor.  Government gets to manipulate behavior while increasing the corporate profits of major campaign contributors.  It's a win-win... Unless you're a smoker or a small business owner.

Sin-taxes are are a form of bad government.  They fail the role-of-government test in several ways.  They threaten personal liberty by allowing the government to penalize legal, but socially unacceptable behavior.  They discriminate by selecting a segment of society for higher taxation, the revenue of which benefits another segment, or society at large.  They distort the market, affecting businesses and jobs.  They often increase crime by creating black markets, or by driving the activity underground where it is likely to be less regulated.

The recent Supreme Court decision on healthcare has allowed for a sin-tax on healthcare -- or, more precisely, the failure to purchase healthcare.  There have been proposals for sin-taxes on sweets, salt, and fast foods by the self-appointed food police.

Taxation should always be fair and blind.  It should not be used to target a segment of society.  It should never be used to control societal behavior.  Taxes that promote criminal activity should be quickly eliminated.

Sin-taxes are an absolute fail.