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Excise Taxes 133 Excise taxes 133 Excise taxes disproportionately by higher-income individuals, ex- cise taxes can achieve an element of progressivity. J. Fred Giertz There are questions, however, concerning hori- University of Illinois zontal equity because not all people at the same in- come level have similar expenditure patterns for Taxes levied on the manufacture, sale, or luxury items. consumption of a single good or service or on Excises are also levied on goods or services that a relatively narrow range of goods or services. are considered harmful or undesirable, in an attempt to discourage consumption. Taxes based on this ra- tionale are labeled sumptuary excises. Examples in- Excise taxes are an example of what have been tra- clude taxes on alcoholic beverages, tobacco prod- ditionally called indirect taxes: taxes that are im- ucts, and wagering. Because many of the goods and posed on a transaction rather than directly on a per- services taxed by sumptuary excises have relatively son or corporation. Excise taxes are narrow-based inelastic demands, these taxes may have only a lim- consumption taxes, as compared with broad-based ited impact on curtailing consumption. This presents taxes such as a general sales tax or an expenditure an added benefit, however, for the government in tax. Excise taxes can be collected at various stages, that it provides a relatively stable source of tax including the point of production, the wholesale revenue. Sumptuary taxes are often popular politi- level, or the retail level. cally because many citizens do not engage in the Excise taxes are levied on either a unit or ad taxed activities, whereas purchasers of the taxed valorem basis. For unit (also known as specific) ex- items do so voluntarily. Such taxes may have nega- cises, the tax is denominated in terms of money per tive consequences from the standpoint of vertical physical unit produced or sold. Examples include equity because sumptuary excises are often highly the U.S. government taxes of 18.41 cents per gallon regressive. of gasoline, $13.50 per gallon of distilled spirits, and Excises may also be imposed as a technique for $12 per departure and arrival international passenger dealing with negative externalities. This is related in airline ticket. Ad valorem excises are based on a some ways to the sumptuary excises. Taxes on “gas- percentage of the value of the product or service guzzling” automobiles and gasoline can be ex- sold. The 10 percent federal tax (declining to 7.5% plained as a kind of Pigouvian (corrective) tax to re- by the year 2000) on the cost of domestic airline duce the divergence of the private and social costs passenger tickets and the 3 percent tax on the cost of relating to pollution or congestion. Such taxes are telephone services are examples of ad valorem usually an imperfect technique for internalizing ex- taxes. ternalities, because an efficient Pigouvian tax should be related to the marginal damage caused by an ac- Rationale for excises tivity, which is not necessarily proportional to the The use of excise taxes is explained or justified by a level of consumption. variety of rationales. They are sometimes employed Finally, excise taxes may be employed as a because of ease of administration. In the past (and means of implementing a benefits-received ap- continuing today in some less-developed countries), proach to taxation. Gasoline taxes are an example. excise taxes were applied only to products produced Gasoline usage is closely related to highway travel, in sectors of the economy with well-developed mar- thereby providing a link between taxes paid and kets. Broader-based taxes, such as the income and benefits received from roadways. This link is further general sales taxes, are difficult to administer when strengthened by earmarking where the revenues most of the economic activity takes place outside a collected from an excise tax are designated for use structured market setting. in providing government services related to the ac- Excise taxes are sometimes used as a means of tivity. Examples include the earmarking of motor implementing an ability-to-pay approach to taxation. fuel taxes for highways and taxes on airline tickets So-called luxury taxes are an example of this ap- for air traffic control and facilities expansion. proach. The United States currently levies an ex- cise tax on expensive passenger vehicles. This tax Economic impacts is set at 10 percent of the value in excess of a floor The economic impacts of excise taxes are usually amount of $30,000. The tax on high-value auto- investigated using a partial equilibrium approach mobiles has also been explained as a means of because excises apply to only one product or, at making foreign imports (which comprise a large most, a narrow range of goods or services. An percentage of such vehicles) more expensive than analysis of the incidence of an excise tax in a com- domestic automobiles. By taxing items consumed petitive industry is usually divided between its im- 134 Excise taxes pacts in the short run and the long run. In the short It also follows from this that optimality can be run, an excise tax increases the price of the product, achieved with a general set of selective excise taxes albeit by less than the full amount of the tax, and the (given the amount of revenue to be collected) by set- price burden is shared by both the producers and the ting excise tax rates for various products inversely consumers. The exact effect depends on the elas- to their elasticity of demand. While such a plan may ticities of demand and supply for the product. The be efficient in the sense that it minimizes excess increase in price resulting from the tax will be burdens, it may have negative equity (distributional) greater as the elasticity of supply increases and the consequences by taxing goods with inelastic de- elasticity of demand falls. The impact on quantity mands (such as necessities) very heavily. will be greater as both the elasticity of demand and From the standpoint of efficiency, a general tax the elasticity of supply increase. on all consumption at a uniform rate will generally In regard to the sharing of the price burden, the dominate a partial system of taxation using excises. more inelastic the demand, the larger the share of Such a tax does not distort consumer choices at the the tax borne by consumers. The more inelastic the margin as excise taxes do. However, the general tax supply, the larger the share borne by producers. In on consumption needs to be truly broad-based, with the limiting cases, the full price burden will be all goods (including leisure) part of the tax base. borne by consumers if demand is completely inelas- Such a broad base is extremely difficult to achieve. tic, whereas the full price burden will fall on pro- ducers if supply is completely inelastic. Use of excise taxes In the long run, the price will increase by more than it does in the short run because of the exit of Historically, excise taxes have played an important firms from the industry caused by losses created by role in the tax systems of most governments. They the tax. In constant cost industries, the price will in- have declined in relative importance, however, in crease by the full amount of the tax; in increasing the last hundred years because of the increased reli- cost industries, by less than the amount of the tax; ance on broad-based taxes such as income, general and in decreasing cost industries, by more than the sales, and value-added taxes. Today, less-developed amount of the tax. A constant cost industry is one in countries rely somewhat more heavily on excises which industry costs are unaffected by the exit or than more highly developed countries. entry of firms. An increasing cost industry is one in In the United States, excise taxes are used by all which the costs of all firms in the industry increase levels of government, with states relying most with the entry of new firms. In a decreasing cost in- heavily on this source. At the federal level in 1991, dustry, the costs of all firms fall with the entry of various excises (not including customs duties) new firms. amounted to $42 billion, or 6.5 percent of federal In general, nothing can be said about the pro- tax revenues. At the state level, excises accounted gressivity or regressivity of excise taxes because the for $50 billion in tax revenues in 1991, or 16.2 per- answer depends on the consumption pattern by in- cent of state tax revenues. Local governments col- come class of each product that is taxed. As noted lected $10 billion, or 4.5 percent of own-source tax above, some excise taxes are highly regressive, such revenues, from excises. as those on tobacco and alcohol, while others, such Federal government excises include taxes on as those targeting luxuries, may be progressive. various fuels, tires for highway use, truck trailers, In regard to the welfare effects of excise taxes, “gas-guzzling” automobiles, luxury items (high- excess burdens or deadweight losses generally result valued automobiles), air transportation, telecommu- from the selective taxation of a small number of nications services, wagering, alcohol, tobacco, and products. Such taxes distort consumer choices by firearms. States generally apply excise taxes to a driving a wedge between marginal cost and price. narrower range of items including motor fuels, alco- The more elastic the demand for a product, the hol, tobacco, and wagering. greater will be the excess burden of an excise be- Some local governments, especially municipa- cause such a tax will have a relatively large impact lities, tax a similar range of activities, although usu- on the quantity consumed.
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