Excise Taxes and Fees on Wireless Services Increased 8.8 Percent in 2024
Wireless taxes and fees set a new record high in 2024.
23 min read
Expert
Adam Hoffer
Director of Excise Tax Policy
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.
Latest Work
Online Sports Betting Taxes by State, 2024
Legal sports betting has grown rapidly since the Supreme Court granted states the ability to establish online sports betting markets in Murphy vs. NCAA in 2018.
3 min read
Cigarette Taxes in Europe, 2024
Explore the latest EU tobacco and cigarette tax rates, including EU excise duties on cigarettes. Compare cigarette taxes in Europe.
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Diesel and Gas Taxes in Europe, 2024
Gas and diesel taxes continue to be prominent policy issues throughout Europe. As the EU undergoes sweeping changes for its green transition, fuel taxes are likely to be a crucial aspect of policy discussions.
3 min read
Expanding User Fees for Transportation: Roads and Beyond
By 2034, the gas tax and other car-related excise taxes are projected to raise less than half of the Highway Trust Fund’s outlays. While broader tax and spending reforms are necessary for overall deficit reduction, improving transportation funding would be a crucial step forward.
34 min read
Gas Taxes by State, 2024
Though gas taxes are intended to serve as user fees and pollution deterrents, they vary widely across states. How does your state’s burden compare?
4 min read
STATES 2.0 Act Sets the Stage for Federal Cannabis Policy
According to recent reports, 72 percent of the current marijuana market in the US is illicit. Evidently, the federal criminalization of marijuana has failed to prevent its sale or consumption.
6 min read
Current Challenges in Vaping Markets
As much as 98 percent of vaping products sold in the US are illicit. Most states levy an excise tax on vaping products, but these tax systems vary substantially. The result is a messy tax system covering largely illicit products, and no one knows whether taxes are being collected and remitted on most products sold nationwide.
7 min read
Vaping Taxes by State, 2024
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.
4 min read
Beer Taxes by State, 2024
Different layers of taxation on production and distribution combine to make up about 40 percent of the retail price of beer.
3 min read
Distilled Spirits Taxes by State, 2024
Newer products like spirits-based hard seltzers and ready-to-drink cocktails have fueled growth, while also blurring the lines of a categorical tax system. The result has been a spirited competition throughout the alcohol industry for market share, including calls to reform tax policy.
3 min read
Vehicle Miles Traveled Taxes Rollout across States
Gas tax revenues have decoupled from road expenses and have been unable to support road funding in recent years. As such, states nationwide are exploring ways to supplement or replace gas tax revenues.
8 min read
From Gallons to Miles: Rethinking Road Taxes
Buckle up as we navigate the twists and turns of infrastructure and road funding. As electric vehicles gain traction, traditional gas taxes are running out of fuel to support our infrastructure budget.
Maryland Proposes a Lower Tax Category for Ready-to-Drink Cocktails
A tax based on alcohol content would be the most neutral, straightforward means of raising revenue from alcohol. But since such a tax would constitute a redesign of the entire alcohol tax system at both the state and federal levels, the next best approach is to create more categories for new products.
4 min read
Michigan Tobacco Bills Could Reduce Revenue and Increase Smuggling
Two pieces of tobacco legislation in Michigan have the potential to decrease state tax collections by $320 million per year, deter smokers from switching to less harmful products, and increase illicit trade and crime.
4 min read
Modernization of the Alcohol Tax
An alcohol by volume (ABV) tax could replace the existing alcohol tax system. An ABV tax would make alcohol taxes simpler, more transparent, and substantially more neutral than the current system.
18 min read
Cannabis Taxation: Lessons Learned from U.S. States and a Blueprint for Nationwide Cannabis Tax Policy
Marijuana taxation is one of the hottest policy issues in the United States. Twenty-one states have implemented legislation to legalize and tax recreational marijuana sales.
16 min read
Cigarette Taxes and Cigarette Smuggling by State, 2021
People respond to incentives. As tax rates increase or products are banned from sale, consumers and producers search for ways around these penalties and restrictions.
17 min read
Excise Taxes and Fees on Wireless Services Drop Slightly in 2023
To alleviate the regressive impact on wireless consumers, states should examine their existing communications tax structures and consider policies that transition their tax systems away from narrowly based wireless taxes and toward broad-based tax sources.
18 min read
Californians Still Smoking Menthol after Ban: Evidence from a Discarded Pack Audit
It’s been almost a year since California banned the sale of all flavored tobacco products, and the big question is: did it work?
4 min read