Questioning the regressivity of tobacco taxes: A distributional accounting impact model of increased tobacco taxation—commentary

Listed in:

• Impact of tobacco taxation
• Tobacco use: The poor
• Impact of tobacco taxation
• Tobacco expenditure by SES

Abstract

Despite extensive evidence from many countries showing that substantially increasing prices of tobacco through taxation is the single most effective way to reduce tobacco use,1 policymakers have been hesitant to adopt such policies. One common argument against higher tobacco taxes is that they may be regressive. This argument relies on a narrow definition of regressivity based on comparing the tax burden—the ratio of taxes paid to income—for different income groups.