Posts tagged as:

sin-tax

Cheers for a Soda Tax?

15 June 2011

Americans love their soda. According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest (report downloads as a pdf), in 2004, the average American consumed 37 gallons of carbonated, non-diet soft drinks. That works out 59,000 calories – or roughly the equivalent of 17 pounds in one year. In good news for the soda industry, [...]

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Sunday Mailbag: The Really Hot Edition

2 May 2010

I am actually waiting for my coffee to cool down this morning. I can barely sip it – it’s so hot out. The temps are slated to creep back up to the 90s again today – the 90s. Remember, folks, I’m in Philly and it’s just the first couple of days of May. It’s not [...]

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Soda Survey Says Taxes Need to be Big

5 April 2010

A study out of the Rand Corporation has concluded that “small taxes” on soda do little to reduce soft drink consumption or prevent childhood obesity. Economist Roland Sturm and his teams analyzed how more than 7,300 fifth graders ate, drank and moved. The children were asked, as part of the study, how many sodas and [...]

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DC Bag Tax Pays Off – Maybe?

30 March 2010

The controversial “bag tax” in Washington DC appears to be paying off. The DC Office of Tax and Revenue says that the tax has generated about $150,000 in the month of January alone – money that will be directed to the newly created Anacostia River Clean Up Fund. That may be all fine and good [...]

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Hey Congress, Why Don’t You…? Tax Bad Behaviors

31 August 2009

Donna Peeples writes: I have seen a lot of articles in the paper about taxing sodas and foods that are bad for you. I say, “Why not?” I used to be a smoker. At one point, I was up to two packs a day. When New Jersey raised their cigarette tax, I stopped because my [...]

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Fix the Tax Code Friday: Best for Who?

31 July 2009

This week, there’s been a considerable focus on a number of proposed “sin taxes” including those on soda, cosmetic surgery and plastic bags. In theory, sin taxes are meant to prevent certain kinds of behavior – whether or not they accomplish it is a whole other story. I realize that nobody wants to pay extra [...]

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NJ Applies Retroactive Tax To Lottery Winners

16 July 2009

When New Jersey Governor Corzine and the legislature were scrambling to find ways to fill the holes in their budget, it was clear that they wanted to utilize “sin” or “vice” taxes as much as possible. Unlike income taxes which affect everyone, sin taxes only affect people who engage in certain behaviors. The behaviors considered [...]

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Do taxgirl Readers Support Sin Taxes?

18 May 2009

There’s still time to participate in the “sin tax” survey… It only takes a few moments of your time and it’s completely anonymous. Sound off on sin taxes – I’ll be posting the results this week.

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Nevada Prostitutes Support Sex Tax

9 April 2009

Nevada legislators got an earful (and an eyeful) on Tuesday during a hearing about whether to tax prostitutes. The tax would be $5 per sex act and would raise more than $2 million per year for the state (I did the math on that one for you, it’s 400,000). Nevada has not collected any direct [...]

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Alabama Imposes “Fat Tax”

28 October 2008

Just one week after I published my primer on Alabama state taxes, an article was posted on TheRoot.com touting a new tax in Alabama: the fat tax. It’s not as literal as it sounds. The Alabama State Employees’ Insurance Board has approved a plan which requires state workers to pay up if they don’t utilize [...]

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