Research Proposal on "Tax Federal 'Sin Taxes:' to Raise Revenue"

Research Proposal 3 pages (1079 words) Sources: 3

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Tax

Federal 'sin taxes:' to raise revenue for healthcare, 'Coke is it!'

America is currently in the midst of a healthcare crisis. As the numbers of uninsured Americans continues to grow, Congress is faced with the need to expand coverage beyond the narrow base of the elderly, young, and very poor Americans currently receiving federally subsidized care. Because healthcare coverage is contingent upon employment for most Americans, the fact that unemployment is on the rise means that in the coming months more and more Americans will lack basic primary care. Also, healthcare costs continue to drain the resources of employers, making American companies less competitive with European and Asian companies from nations with universal, single-payer systems. However, the question remains: how to provide coverage for Americans during a time of reduced government resources and escalating debt? Estimates of the Obama Administration's proposed healthcare plan hover around $1.2 trillion (Adamy 2009).

One of the proposed fund-raising solutions for the plan has been to create a federal excise tax or 'sin tax' upon unhealthy products, including sugary soda, fruit drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks, flavored beverages and bottled ice teas. Much like the recently proposed and rapidly killed proposed state sin tax in New York State, it would not include diet sodas. "New York Gov. David Paterson recently agreed to drop a proposal for an 18% tax on sugary drinks after facing an outcry from the beverage industry and New Yorkers" (Adamy 2009). One of the reasons New York legislators failed to pass the bill, they stated, was its arbitrary nature. However, in defense of their failure to target non-caloric beverages, the bill's supporters noted that reducing sugar consumption was the primary aim of the bill (as well as generating revenue) given the role sugar plays in contributing to obesity, diabetes and other health problems.

The rationale behind this particular federal excise or 'sin' tax seems sound -- to finance healthcare and to promote healthy behaviors, tax an unhealthy product. Healthcare costs will be reduced overall, as well, if people drink less soda. This is the principle behind the sin taxes that exist in every state of the nation upon cigarettes and alcohol. "Excise taxes are levied on goods and manufacturers typically pass them on to consumers" (Adamy 2009). The more expensive goods and services are, the higher the opportunity cost and the greater the disincentive not to purchase them. However, there are always some innate contradictions that arise regarding sin tax policy. For example, red wine may possess a small or great health benefit (depending on conflicting studies) but diet soda with no health benefits and potentially questionable artificial sweeteners would not be taxed under the bill. Fruit drinks would be taxed, but Skittles candy would not be taxed. But a supporter of the bill, the Center for Science in the Public Interest notes that, "soft drinks are nutritionally worthless…[and] are directly related to weight gain, partly because beverages are more conducive to weight gain than solid foods" (Montopoli 2009)

A similar argument could be made for table sugar, however, which is not satiating, high in calories, and nutritionally worthless. Hypocrisy seems inevitable regarding sin taxes: Cigarettes are taxed and deemed a public health hazard but many senators come from… READ MORE

How to Reference "Tax Federal 'Sin Taxes:' to Raise Revenue" Research Proposal in a Bibliography

Related Research Proposals:

US Tax Policy Research Proposal

U.S. tax policy

Although smokers may hate to hear it, tax policies used for the purpose of social engineering do seem to work. According to USA Today, "Cigarette sales fell… read more

Research Proposal 7 pages (2407 words) Sources: 5 Topic: Economics / Finance / Banking

---

P2P and the E-Music Industry Research Proposal

P2P and the E-Music Industry

The focus of this work is on the impact that the development of the peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing model has had on the commercial e-music industry.… read more

Research Proposal 15 pages (4372 words) Sources: 25 Style: APA Topic: Music / Musicians / Instruments

---

Altria and Apple Stock Analysis Research Proposal

Altria & Apple

In this exercise, I selected two different stocks to purchase. One was Altria, the cigarette company and the other was Apple, the computer company. Each of these… read more

Research Proposal 12 pages (3411 words) Sources: 6 Style: MLA Topic: Business / Corporations / E-commerce

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>