Although New York’s 2027 budget proposal avoids tax increases on income, sales, and property taxes, it is full of policy proposals that threaten the long-run integrity of the state’s finances and harm New York taxpayers.
5 min read
To design an effective excise tax policy around smoking tobacco & nicotine products, it is crucial to consider the concept of harm reduction.
6 min read
Cigarette tax avoidance costs states billions in forgone tax revenue and necessitates additional spending on enforcement of the ineffective policies.
6 min read
Creative destruction—coined by famed economist Joseph Schumpeter—is the idea that new innovations disrupt and “destroy” existing economic structures as they create better and more efficient products and processes.
4 min read
Countries and global organizations should recognize the harms caused by cigarette smuggling and the fact that this illicit trade is a direct result of exorbitant tax policies.
5 min read
Growing cigarette tax levels and differentials have made cigarette smuggling both a national problem and a lucrative criminal enterprise.
6 min read
Summer has arrived, and states are beginning to implement policy changes that were enacted during this year’s legislative session (or that have delayed effective dates or are being phased in over time).
28 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.
7 min read
Instead of doubling down on a shrinking tax base, Ohio lawmakers should instead look towards tax solutions that secure the state’s long-term fiscal health.
4 min read
New leadership at the FDA will have the opportunity to revisit decisions that have shifted consumption to illicit products and discouraged harm reduction—policies that, however well intended, have come at a significant cost in lives.
7 min read
An update to the EU’s Excise Tax Directive that embraces harm reduction principles would save lives and provide a steady stream of revenue to support public health expenditures.
22 min read
The US already has massive problems with cigarette smuggling. A cigarette prohibition would be devastating to tax coffers while pushing smokers toward what could become the world’s largest illicit market.
4 min read
Tax avoidance is a natural consequence of tax policy. Policymakers should consider the unintended consequences, both to public health and public coffers, of the excise taxes and regulatory regimes for cigarettes and other nicotine products.
5 min read
Growing cigarette tax levels and differentials have made cigarette smuggling both a national problem and a lucrative criminal enterprise.
16 min read
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
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
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
Step into the shadows of illicit trade where taxation, incentives, and criminal networks intersect to fuel the lucrative cigarette smuggling market.
If the policy goal of taxing cigarettes is to encourage cessation, vapor taxation must be considered a part of that policy design.
3 min read
The potential for alternative tobacco products to save lives is clear and well established. The framework described in this paper uses a scientific approach to tax strategy that will both reduce harm and create a reliable revenue stream for public expenditures.
17 min read