The Pros And Cons Of Sin Tax

Sin taxes are state-imposed excise taxes added to products that are considered sinful—like alcohol and cigarettes—to prevent civilians from indulging themselves in unhealthy activities. This house believes that sin tax should be abolished as this highly regressive and discriminating tax endorses rampant smuggling and thus leads to corruption.

The opposing side has discussed the disadvantages of alcohol and cigarettes to an individual. But, when taken within moderation, alcohol can actually lower the risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, dementia and gallstones. It is true however, that cigarettes can lead to sickness and, at times, death, but it is not the government's choice to make whether or whether not an individual would like to indulge

him or herself in tobacco.

And although a nation can benefit from the increase of its tax revenue, just as the negative side explained, a state wouldn't actually be able to benefit from this due to the law of demand which states that in the case of a certain commodity's price rising, would less people demand said commodity. Due to the increase of the price of tobacco and alcohol, people would be less compelled to purchase these goods. Should tobacco and alcohol companies receive no sales or purchases, would these companies experience bankruptcy and thus force themselves to layoff an abundance of their employees, leaving a number of people jobless.

Our first speaker, Sabrina, spoke about the discrimination and regression that comes along with sin tax. The people of the lower class, i.e. the poor, pay a greater proportion of their income as tax. Sure, a portion of the lower class are going to force themselves to lessen their intake of alcohol and cigarettes to save money but that doesn't mean that the wealthy—who can purchase these goods as much as they want—are going to do the same.

Angela, our second positive speaker, expounded on how this tax triggers aggressive smuggling and thus leads to corruption and violence. Since the taxation of cigarettes and alcohol is so high, people would be less compelled to purchase these goods…from legal sellers. Because when people are addicting to som