Definition

Sin taxes (Ro.: taxa pe viciu, Fr.: sainte taxe, n.f., Cz.: daň z hříchu) (See also: Pigovian tax, sales tax, sin stock, tobacco tax) = an excise tax added to certain products or services (such as cigarettes, liquor, gambling, chocolate, air-conditioning, gasoline), considered neither luxuries, nor necessities, that has two main purposes: a) to discourage the consumption of these so-called products/ services without the need to outlaw them, and b) to increase governmental revenue in a more socially acceptable manner.

Consumption taxes are economically efficient. Also, they are considered to directly link payment for the damage to society caused by these so-called vicious products/ services, and they are effectively able to reduce their use by increasing the price.

 

Useful links

Legislation

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2011:176:0024:0036:EN:PDF - Council Directive 2011/64/EU of 21 June 2011 on the structure and rates of excise duty applied to manufactured tobacco (codification) [English]

http://lege5.ro/Gratuit/gy4teobqgy/legea-nr-124-2015-privind-aprobarea-ordonantei-de-urgenta-a-guvernului-nr-92-2014-pentru-reglementarea-unor-masuri-fiscal-bugetare-si-modificarea-unor-acte-normative/2 - Law 124/2015, Romania [Romanian]

http://www2.publicationsduquebec.gouv.qc.ca/dynamicSearch/telecharge.php?type=2&file=/T_1/T1_A.html - Fuel Tax Act, Canada [English]

Case Law

http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/jurisprudence/2011/september2011/180006.htm#_ftn15 - Republic of the Philippines, Supreme Court, Manila, Commissioner of Internal Revenu v. Fortune Tobacco Corporation, 2011 

http://legeaz.net/spete-contencios-inalta-curte-iccj-2011/decizia-2096-2011 - Ruling no. 2096/2011, High Court of Cassation and Justice of Romania, Division for administrative and fiscal disputes, 2011 

http://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document_print.jsf?doclang=EN&text=&pageIndex=0&part=1&mode=DOC&docid=150049&occ=first&dir=&cid=52038 - Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 27 February 2014 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Cataluña (Spain)), Transportes Jordi Besora SL v. Generalitat de Catalunya, Case C-82/12

Organisations and associations

http://www.ttb.gov/other/statutes.shtml - TTB Statutes, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (USA)

http://www.searo.who.int/tobacco/documents/2012-pub1.pdf - Tobacco Taxation and Innovative Health-care Financing, World Health Organization, Regional Office for South-East Asia

http://mercatus.org/publication/taxing-sin - Williams, R., Christ, K., Taxing Sin, Mercatus Center George Mason University (USA)

Online Publications

http://www.britannica.com/topic/sales-tax#ref920652 – Häuser, Karl H., Sales tax, Encyclopedia Britannica

http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-01-23/what-states-get-out-of-sin-taxes - McArdle, Megan, 2015, Why States Like Sin Taxes, bloombergview.com

http://business.inquirer.net/93830/sin-tax-bill-flagging-some-constitutional-issues - Lim, F., 2012, Sin tax bill: Flagging some constitutional issues, business.inquirer.net

http://www.juridice.ro/327950/incompatibilitatea-taxei-pe-viciu-cu-dreptul-european.html - Costaş, Cosmin Flavius, 2014, Incompatibilitatea taxei pe viciu cu Dreptul european, juridice.ro

http://www.rappler.com/nation/87387-bloomberg-award-philippines-sin-tax-law - Mendoza, Diana G., 2015, Bloomberg lauds PH for sin tax law, rappler.com

http://www.bursa.ro/mize-noi-pe-piata-jocurilor-de-noroc-200-milioane-euro-in-plus-la-buget-dupa-aplicarea-noii-legi-...&s=print&sr=articol&id_articol=260022.html – Olescu, E., 2015, 200 milioane euro în plus la buget, după aplicarea noii legi din gambling, bursa.ro

http://www.mediafax.ro/economic/guvernul-creste-taxele-pe-jocuri-de-noroc-si-impune-o-taxa-anuala-de-viciu-pentru-slot-machine-13743207 - Dinca, T., 2014, Guvernul creşte taxele pe jocuri de noroc şi impune o taxă anuală 'de viciu' pentru slot-machine, mediafax.ro

http://web.uncg.edu/dcl/courses/viceCrime/m2/The%20Sin%20Tax.html – Sirico, Robert A., The Sin Tax: Economic and Moral Considerations, The University of North Carolina

http://study.com/academy/lesson/sin-taxes-definition-pros-cons.html - Hill, Aaron, Sin Taxes: Definition, Pros & Cons, study.com

http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=rebecca_green – Green, Rebecca, 2011, The Ethics of Sin Taxes, bepress.com

Publications

McGee, Robert W., 2011, The Philosophy of Taxation and Public Finance, New York, Springer Science & Business Media

 

By Diana Buzilă