How High are Vaping Taxes in Your State?
If the policy goal of taxing cigarettes is to encourage cessation, vapor taxation must be considered a part of that policy design.
If the policy goal of taxing cigarettes is to encourage cessation, vapor taxation must be considered a part of that policy design.
If the policy goal of taxing cigarettes is to encourage cessation, vapor taxation must be considered a part of that policy design.
Several states are considering introducing or increasing taxes on vapor products to make up declining tax revenue from traditional tobacco products or to fill budget holes in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. However, lawmakers should approach the issue carefully because flawed excise tax design on vapor products could drive consumers back to more harmful combustible products like cigarettes.
Many states may be looking toward vapor and other excise taxes to fill budget holes caused by the coronavirus crisis. While those areas may represent untapped revenue sources for many states, taxing those activities is unlikely to raise much revenue in the short term.
While lawmakers are working through the design of vapor tax proposals, they must thread the needle between protecting adult smokers’ ability to switch and barring minors’ access to nicotine products. A good first step is creating appropriate definitions for the new nicotine products to avoid unintended disproportionate taxation based on design differences or bundling.
A variety of taxing methods and a wide range of rates indicates that there is little consensus on the best way to levy vapor taxes in the U.S.