Elon Law professor Andy Haile offered an overview of the use of sin taxes in states across the country on March 16, for consideration by the Vermont Blue Ribbon Tax Structure Commission.
The Commission is charged by the state legislature to examine potential modifications to Vermont’s tax system to address both the immediate budget crisis faced by the state and the long-term equity and stability of the system.
Haile, who has written on the use of sin taxes by state governments and analyzed the impacts of sin taxes for news organizations in Connecticut and North Carolina, reviewed trends in the application of sin taxes by states and offered a regional comparative analysis of sin taxes for the Vermont commission.
Haile also detailed arguments for sin taxes – including the revenue raised for states and positive health impacts those revenues can achieve – and arguments against sin taxes – including the regressive quality of the tax and ethical issues in aligning state revenue interests with the sale of harmful products.
Click on the E-Cast link to the right of this article to review Haile’s presentation to the Vermont tax commission.
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