Adam Hoffer is the Director of Excise Tax Policy at the Tax Foundation. Dr. Hoffer earned his PhD in Economics from West Virginia University and his undergraduate degree from Washington & Jefferson College.
Prior to joining the Tax Foundation, Dr. Hoffer was the Menard Family Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and the inaugural Director of the Menard Family Midwest Center for Economic Engagement and Research. Dr. Hoffer was also a Bradley Freedom Fellow with the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty and a senior editor with the Center for Growth and Opportunity at Utah State University.
Dr. Hoffer published 30 peer-reviewed academic journal articles and he is the lead author and editor of two books: For Your Own Good: Taxes, Paternalism, and Fiscal Discrimination in the Twenty-First Century and Regulation and Economic Opportunity: Blueprints for Reform.
He lives in La Crosse, Wisconsin with his wife and two children.
Retail prices make poor targets for excise tax policy, often reflecting factors that have little to do with the underlying reasons for which an excise tax is levied in the first place. Unfortunately, the World Health Organization (WHO) has a growing preference for using tax share of retail price (tax incidence) as a primary policy target.
6 min read
NYC’s congestion tolling has reduced congestion, raised money for the MTA, and sped up vehicles in the city. Its success has inspired proposals for congestion tolling in other major US cities, like Los Angeles and Washington, DC.
4 min read
As the alcohol industry innovates with newer products like high alcohol content beer or ready-to-drink cocktails, the efficacy of a categorical system continues to break down.
Whether a sommelier or a casual enjoyer, wine drinkers may not be aware of just how much they are paying in taxes to uncork their drink of choice.
6 min read
In the United States, taxes are the single most expensive ingredient in beer. The tax burden accounts for more of the final price of beer than labor and materials combined—the many different layers of applicable taxes combining to total as much as 40.8 percent of the retail price.
7 min read
Oregon’s Extended Producer Responsibility program to incentivize recycling does so with a complicated and unprincipled series of regulations, including confidentially determined tax rates on various materials derived from a revenue goal.
8 min read
Alcohol taxes in Illinois have been broken for decades, and the state is now considering a “fix” that moves policy in the wrong direction.
6 min read
The significant disparity in tax rates across states underscores the complex tax and regulatory environment governing distilled spirits.
9 min read
Academic research has continually found that making alternative nicotine products to cigarettes more expensive results in fewer smokers switching to less harmful products.
7 min read
Rental cars are some of the most heavily taxed transactions in the US. Rather than levying additional taxes on rental cars by trying to export the tax burden to nonresidents, municipalities should enact principled, neutral transportation tax policy that is unlikely to discourage visitors, tourists, and other economic activity.
5 min read
Two bills in Oklahoma and Louisiana shift towards a weight-based system for taxing moist snuff tobacco (MST), a policy that ensures neutral taxation across products and less revenue volatility.
4 min read
Nearly half of US states regulate and tax recreational markets, and only 10 states still lack a comprehensive medical marijuana program.
8 min read
Cigarette smokers in the European Union pay far more in excise taxes than they do for the cigarettes themselves. Our latest map illustrates the wide variance in cigarette excise taxes across EU Member States.
6 min read
Gas tax prices are soaring across the country, and lawmakers are naturally looking for ways to alleviate the pain at the pump. While gas tax holidays—which temporarily suspend fuel taxes to artificially lower the price of gas—are a politically welcomed intervention, taxpayers shouldn’t be so quick to celebrate.
The amount of revenue states raise through roadway-related revenues varies significantly across the US. Only two states raise enough revenue to fully cover their highway spending.
5 min read
Delaware Governor Matt Meyer (D) has proposed a new state budget that includes roughly $18.9 million in additional annual revenue from higher tobacco taxes.
4 min read
The vaping industry has grown rapidly in recent decades, becoming a well-established product category and a viable alternative to cigarettes for those trying to quit smoking. US states levy a variety of tax structures on vaping products.
8 min read
Fuel taxes continue to be a central policy consideration for European countries amid geopolitical conflicts, increased emphasis on environmental policy, and economic conditions experienced by average consumers.
6 min read
Coming into 2026, several states are eyeing new or increased Alternative Tobacco Product (ATP) taxes.
5 min read
As states grapple with taxing the evolving tobacco and nicotine market, policymakers should carefully consider the tax mix they implement.