Erin Go Smokeless

Ireland has had more than its share of fiscal problems over the last decade, having been long considered one of the original “PIGS” nations. (Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain) They actually did a good job in a number of areas when it came to reducing the tax burden on employers and attracting new business, working [...]

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Stupid.

The idea behind sin taxes is nothing new; they have long been a favored method for lawmakers looking to raise revenue on the backs of behaviors that they oh-so-munificently deem to be vices — alcohol, tobacco, and gambling have been longtime targets and proposals for taxing junk food are the newest hotness — and subsequently [...]

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Fail

Regular Hot Gas readers are already familiar with the various attempts at imposing sin taxes around the country on products like tobacco, alcohol and fast foods, as well as the dismal record of “success” such efforts frequently meet. But there is a new study out this month which is definitely worth your time to read. [...]

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Who could have thunk it?

With all the nonsense that’s been going on in the Empire State of late – especially the Governor’s successful gun rantings - I’d begun to worry that New York was doomed for mediocrity. But for better or worse, you just can’t keep the government of this state down. If we can’t lead in freedom, prosperity [...]

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Not so much

Taking a break from the firestorm of sad news this weekend, let’s circle back and see how things are going in the states which have chosen to sin tax their way back to prosperity. First, my own home stomping grounds of New York, which has been seeking a way to stave off total fiscal collapse [...]

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That didn't go well.

Last year, Denmark levied the first-ever national “fat tax” on food products containing saturated fats in an effort to both exert some sway over what the goverment deemed were members of the Danish population’s unhealthy eating habits, and perhaps bring in some extra revenue at the same time. Two birds, one stone — easy, right? [...]

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Forward!

Way back in 2011 we took at look at a proposal by Cook County and the greater Chicago area to try to boost revenue through the tried and not very true practice of sin taxes. The government there was going to stock up their coffers by jacking up the taxes on cigarettes. This was on [...]

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We don't need no stinking tax stamps

Those Mexican crime syndicates certainly find their way into the news a lot, don’t they? When they’re not running guns from American government sources, kidnapping children for prostitution or shipping tons of cocaine and marijuana through tunnels they’re busy corrupting the government. But it seems that now they’ve found yet another avenue of profit, and [...]

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Tax plan up in smoke

Earlier this year we took a brief look at Illinois Governor Patt Quinn’s inspired and sure-fire plan to ease his state’s fiscal woes on the backs of smokers by raising the taxes on cigarettes. Estimates as to how much money this would bring in ranged from modest sums in the mere millions to roughly the [...]

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