“‘Sin Taxes’ Could Help States in Pandemic Budget Slump (at Least a Little Bit),” by Elaine S. Povich,

Quote:

“Gas tax revenue plummeted this spring, income taxes won’t rebound anytime soon and some states are offering a property tax holiday because people can’t pay during the pandemic. But so-called sin taxes are rolling in as liquor stores boom, marijuana sales continue, vapers vape and smokers smoke. …Taxes on those items often are more politically palatable because they generally affect a smaller portion of the population and the purchases are seen more as a choice than a necessity.”

LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform):

Sin taxes do hit fewer people, specifically the poor who are already suffering most in the pandemic. The irony of sin taxes is that they increase long-term care expenditures by discouraging unhealthful practices like smoking and drinking thus reducing early deaths. To decrease LTC expenditures, there’s never been anything more effective than trapping people in Medicaid nursing homes where they are apt to contract the virus. What a mess public policies have created!