Alcohol tax

Excise on alcoholic beverages No level of alcohol consumption is safe for health. Worldwide, 2.6 million deaths were caused by alcohol consumption in 2019, from diseases and injuries. Excise taxes on alcoholic beverages are per unit taxes levied by governments to raise revenue or used as corrective taxes to control health-related externalities associated with consumption of alcohol. Almost all countries tax alcohol. This page addresses the economics and politics of alcohol excise taxation. Background Excise taxes are specific taxes applied to production, distribution or sale of a commodity or service, such as alcohol, tobacco, gasoline, sugary drinks, marijuana, plastic bags, indoor tanning, bicycles, firearms, and gambling. Other terms for these taxes are an excise duty, indirect tax, unit tax, user fee, commodity tax, consumption tax, luxury tax, sumptuary tax, and sin tax. Excise taxes may be used to raise revenue or as corrective taxes to address externalities associated with production or consumption. Taxing producers using specific taxes is believed to reduce administrative costs and risks of non-compliance. Excise taxes on alcohol are applied on a per unit basis (ad quantum)