Prohibition by Price
Step into the shadows of illicit trade where taxation, incentives, and criminal networks intersect to fuel the lucrative cigarette smuggling market.
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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.
3 min read
How Should Alternative Tobacco Products Be Taxed?
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
Taxes and Illicit Trade
Taxation plays a key role in driving illicit trade. People respond to incentives, and sizable price markups for legal cigarettes create incentives for tax avoidance.
4 min read
State Tax Changes Taking Effect July 1, 2023
At least 32 notable tax policy changes recently took effect across 18 states, including alterations to income taxes, payroll taxes, sales and use taxes, property taxes, and excise taxes. See if your state tax code changed.
15 min read
The Future of Tobacco Taxation in Europe
Later this week, the European Union is expected to release a new Tobacco Tax Directive, the first update in more than a decade. Early reports indicate that the EU will propose a significant increase to the existing minimum cigarette tax rates levied across the Union and expand the product categories that are taxed, including a block-wide vaping tax.
7 min read
Vapor Taxes by State, 2022
If the policy goal of taxing cigarettes is to encourage cessation, vapor taxation must be considered a part of that policy design.
4 min read
State Tax Changes Taking Effect July 1, 2022
Although the majority of state tax changes take effect at the start of the calendar year, some are implemented at the beginning of the fiscal year. Fourteen states have notable tax changes taking effect on July 1.
7 min read
Proposal to Raise Vapor Taxes in Washington State Gets Base and Rate Wrong
Lawmakers in Washington need not revisit their vapor tax. The current tax is levied at an appropriate level and it has the right tax base.
3 min read
Poor Tax Design in Alaska Vapor Tax Proposal
A proposal to introduce a wholesale tax on vapor products in Alaska could make switching from combustible tobacco products very expensive for smokers.
4 min read
Should Tax Policy Play a Role in Tobacco Harm Reduction?
In an effort to raise roughly $100 billion, the House proposal would double cigarette taxes and increase all other tobacco and nicotine taxes to comparable rates—a strategy with severe unintended consequences.
5 min read
House Tobacco Proposals Defy Biden’s Tax Pledge and Undermine Harm Reduction Efforts
House Democrats’ newly released $3.5 trillion tax legislation includes a tax increase on tobacco, nicotine, and vapor products levied on tobacco manufacturers. But ultimately it would fall heavily on tobacco consumers—many of the group that earns less than $400,000 that President Biden pledged would not see a tax increase.
6 min read
State Tax Changes Taking Effect July 1, 2021
Thirteen states have notable tax changes taking effect on July 1, 2021, which is the first day of fiscal year (FY) 2022 for every state except Alabama, Michigan, New York, and Texas. Individual and corporate income tax changes usually take effect at the beginning of the calendar year for the sake of maintaining policy consistency throughout the tax year, but sales and excise tax changes often correspond with the beginning of a fiscal year.
11 min read
Banning Tobacco Flavors Could Prove Costly for D.C.
Early signs indicate that flavors bans will not decrease tobacco consumption. It is not in the interest of the District of Columbia to pursue a public health measure that merely sends tax revenue to its neighboring jurisdictions without improving public health.
3 min read
How High Are Vapor Taxes in Your State?
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.
3 min read
Why Smoking and Vaping Tax Increases Should Not be Part of West Virginia’s Reform Proposals
In West Virginia, both Senate Republicans and Gov. Justice have offered proposals for reductions to the state’s income tax. In both of the proposals, excise taxes on tobacco and nicotine products are part of the pay-fors that are supposed to make up revenue lost due to lower income tax rates.
4 min read
Excise Tax Application and Trends
The excise tax family is growing. Over the last decade, several products have become subject to excise taxes or are in the process of becoming so. Given this development, it is more crucial than ever that lawmakers, businesses, and consumers understand the possibilities and, more importantly, limitations of excise tax application.
77 min read
Smoking High Excise Taxes on Vapor Products Could Be Coming to West Virginia
West Virginians would face extraordinarily high taxes on vapor products in state if Senate Bill 68 becomes law. The bill would increase taxes on liquid used in vapor products from 7.5 cents per milliliter (ml) to $1 per ml—an increase of over 1,300 percent.
3 min read
Join Us for a Free “State Tax Policy Boot Camp”
The Tax Foundation’s “State Tax Policy Boot Camp,” is ideal for anyone interested in gaining a better understanding of state taxation.
2 min read