The Truth about the Sin Tax

There’s a funny little term that floats around the tax world, and that term is “sin taxes.” This term is typically used, at least by laymen, to refer to the tax on “pleasurable” but “bad” things, such as alcohol, tobacco, soda, and junk food. These taxes, which, in reality, are called “excise taxes” are taxes executed on things that are bad for human health. The government likes to put up the front that it dissuades people from engaging in unhealthy behaviors by exacting “sin taxes,” but it also profits from these taxes in the form of state revenue, making the whole idea a bit of a Catch-22.  

While it may not be fair for the IRS to say it doesn’t want people to do or buy certain things but then to profit big time when they do, the fact remains that these taxes do exist and thus that they do have to be paid. As a consumer, you pay these taxes each and every time you buy such a product or service. As a business, though, if you offer these taxes and services, which also include things like tanning or selling gas, you must be sure that you pay these excise taxes, or you could face serious punishment that could potentially ruin you and your business.

The bad thing about these taxes is that they are the same for all people, regardless of income, which makes them even more unfair, especially when you consider that studies show that people in lower income brackets are more likely to partake in bad for them goods. No matter how you feel about these taxes, though, you have to pay them if you wish to partake in “sinful” products and even more so if you wish to profit from the sale of “sinful” products. However, the Catch-22 continues with the fact that businesses profit more off of the sale of “sinful” goods and/or services than they do off of so-called morally conscious ones.

No matter how you feel about it morally, however, the bottom line is simple: just pay up, whether you’re a consumer, seller, or, more than likely, both, and be done with it.