Explantation of Google Excise Tax
According to Google excise tax is know as the taxes paid when purchases are made on a specific good, such as gas. Excise taxes are often included in the price of the product. Many times we include taxes in the prices of the items that include the government profiting from them. People flock to smaller, cheaper items before they flock to larger items, which causes the demand to increase. When demand increases, of course prices increase, which causes excise tax to increase.
On the other hand, sales tax is the tax on sales or on the receipts from sales. When taxes are already included in the item, many times people do not pay attention to the rate of taxes but, when they get a receipt and can see how much they were taxed they may think twice about purchasing the item again.
We do not tax things such as water, clothing or newspaper possibly because the mass consumption of certain products that have excise tax brings in revenue without having to take the risk of increasing income or sales tax. Water, clothing or newspaper does not directly affect the government or the environment, therefore are less likely to get taxed. These are items that can be made anytime. When taxing items, the government looks at things such as revenue, retirement benefits and environmental benefits. Some items are taxed more than others, depending on the vendor.
When the government places taxes on the items such as gasoline, cigarettes, and liquor it is to minimize the harm to the environment. The high taxes are meant to throw the people off and change their mind about buying the product. For example, if a customer walks in a gas station and asks for a box of cigarettes, more than likely they are looking to pay no more five dollars. But say the government throws a huge tax of $4.75 on the cigarettes because the side effects are cancer and bad breathe, the demand for smoking cigarettes will decrease substantially. The pro of taxing these products help fund research