Excise taxes on smoking, drinking, gambling, polluting, and driving are always topical and controversial. Not only are these taxes convenient sources of government revenue, they can also be designed to reflect the external costs that consumers or producers of excisable products impose on other people. Global warming, acid rain, traffic congestion, and the economic costs of tobacco and alcohol consumption are problems that can be corrected through selective taxes and other regulatory instruments. Addressing these and other issues, this book by internationally recognized experts analyses the art ... More

Excise taxes on smoking, drinking, gambling, polluting, and driving are always topical and controversial. Not only are these taxes convenient sources of government revenue, they can also be designed to reflect the external costs that consumers or producers of excisable products impose on other people. Global warming, acid rain, traffic congestion, and the economic costs of tobacco and alcohol consumption are problems that can be corrected through selective taxes and other regulatory instruments. Addressing these and other issues, this book by internationally recognized experts analyses the art of excise taxation, providing a systematic, insightful, and often provocative treatment of a major fiscal instrument that policy-makers often neglect, and that gets little attention in the professional literature. This comprehensive guide to the debate on excise tax policy will be invaluable to government officials, policy-makers, academics and students of taxation, and those working in relevant industries.