sin tax

If a sin tax is successful and consumption drops — as it has with tobacco — “the tax base shrinks. And in the case of cannabis, there’s the added wrinkle that a high tax rate can push consumers back into the illicit market, which also reduces revenue,” she said.

This is not the first time services for the state’s youngest children have been affected by reductions in a sin tax.

“There’s not a general income tax, not a corporate tax. This is, from my perspective, more of a sin tax…. The cost borne by the taxpayers for gun violence is off the charts.… So it’s a small price to pay. This is pretty de minimis.”

California voters eked out a win for children more than two decades ago based on a “sin tax.”

Department of Revenue statistics show cannabis has become a larger source of state revenue than alcohol and tobacco as sources of “sin tax” revenue over the past five years, raising more than $2 billion for the state even before local sales taxes are calculated.