Sin! Just the mere mention of the word conjures up
all types of images ranging from a deliciously sinful calorie-laden dessert all
the way to the far reaches of the spectrum with the truly unthinkable and/or
unacceptable.
But states profiting
from sin? What's that all about?
I came across an
article about state income derived from taxes on goods and services that are
deemed to be sinful—sin taxes. The
article's definition of 'sinful' is all things related to tobacco, alcohol, and
gambling.
Those are the opening three paragraphs from a blog I did
over two years ago. I just came across an
updated list citing a new top ten list with revised numbers based on new data
from the Census Bureau and the American Gaming Association. So…I thought it would be a good idea to
update my old blog.
Excise taxes on tobacco are the most politically volatile
and varied across the country. For
instance, Rhode Island (in the top 10) charges $3.50 in taxes per pack (that's
one pack of twenty individual cigarettes, not a carton) of cigarettes while
Virginia and Missouri charge less than $.50 per pack. However, the actual total dollar number in
profits quite often depends more on consumption (volume of sales) than
percentage of taxes with lower tax percentage states raking in more profit dollars
than high tax percentage states. New
York has a whopping $4.35/pack cigarette tax yet the state did not make it into
the top 10 list.
Compared to the other sin-related sources of income, taxes
on alcohol are not a big source of state revenue.
It seems obvious that gambling is almost always a much more
significant source of income than tobacco or alcohol. Especially when you remember that gambling is
more than just casinos, it also includes the state lotteries.
These are the states profiting most from sin. These figures are from 2011, the most recent
year for which there is consistent data available for all income.
10) Oregon
Total percent of revenue from sin: 3.0%
Most profitable sin: Gambling
(lottery)
Revenue from sin:
$1,552,600,000
Total state revenue:
$34,797,285,000
[my previous blog: #10 was New Jersey with 4.34% from sin
and most profitable sin being gambling (lottery)]
9) South Dakota
Total percent of revenue from sin: 3.3%
Most profitable sin: Gambling
(casinos)
Revenue from sin:
$204,293,000
Total state revenue:
$6,017,179,000
[my previous blog: #9 was New Hampshire with 4.54% from sin
and the most profitable sin being tobacco]
8) Michigan
Total percent of revenue from sin: 3.6%
Most profitable sin: Gambling
(casinos)
Revenue from sin:
$2,292,118,000
Total state revenue:
$64,429,901,000
[my previous blog: #8 was Illinois with 4.55% from sin and
the most profitable sin being tobacco]
7) Pennsylvania
Total percent of revenue from sin: 3.7%
Most profitable sin: Gambling
(casinos)
Revenue from sin:
$3,849,764,000
Total state revenue:
$91,705,305,000
[my previous blog: #7 was Michigan with 4.91% from sin and
the most profitable sin being tobacco]
6) Indiana
Total percent of revenue from sin: 4.0%
Most profitable sin: Gambling
(casinos)
Revenue from sin: $1,552,600,000
Total state revenue: $38,894,976,000
[my previous blog: #6 was Pennsylvania with 5.04% from sin
and the most profitable sin being gambling (casinos)]
5) New Hampshire
Total percent of revenue from sin: 4.6%
Most profitable sin:
Tobacco
Revenue from sin:
$393,209,000
Total state revenue:
$8,542,308,000
[my previous blog: #5 was South Dakota with 5.63% from sin
and the most profitable sin being gambling (lottery)]
4) West Virginia
Total percent of revenue from sin: 4.7%
Most profitable sin:
Gambling (lottery)
Revenue from sin:
$729,451,000
Total state revenue:
$15,397,630,000
[my previous blog: #4 was Indiana with 6.11% from sin and
the most profitable sin being gambling (casinos)]
3) Delaware
Total percent of revenue from sin: 5.0%
Most profitable sin:
Gambling (lottery)
Revenue from sin:
$472,054,000
Total state revenue:
$9,349,728,000
[my previous blog: #3
was Delaware with 7.56% from sin and the most profitable sin being gambling
(lottery). Delaware is one of only three
unchanged rankings from my previous blog]
2) Rhode Island
Total percent of revenue from sin: 5.4%
Most profitable sin:
Gambling (lottery)
Revenue from sin:
$505,305,000
Total state revenue:
$9,388,083,000
[my previous blog: #2
was Rhode Island with 8.66% from sin and the most profitable sin being gambling
(lottery). Rhode Island is one of the unchanged
rankings from my previous blog]
And topping the list, coming as no surprise and also an
unchanged ranking from my previous blog:
1) Nevada
Total percent of revenue from sin: 5.8%
Most profitable sin: Gambling
(casinos)
Revenue from sin:
$1,013,568,000
Total state revenue:
$17,597,124,000
Note: There wasn't
any mention about the amount of tax income from legalized prostitution in
specific counties.
[my previous blog, #1 was Nevada with 12.83% from sin and
the most profitable sin being gambling (casinos)]
As you can see, the percentage of income in 2011 derived
from sin for the top 10 in the most recent survey is down from my previous blog
which was based on figures from 2009.
The general consensus from the organizations tracking these numbers is
that figures for 2012-2013 (since the 2011 survey) are showing a rise in percentage
of income from sin.
4 comments:
What's more interesting is that is all from gambling. I would have figured it would have been from ciggerettes or liquor.
Marika
Interesting that sin taxes hit the people who could be considered either risk takers or addictive personalities the hardest. Thanks for the thoughtful post.
Marika: I'm surprised liquor didn't play a larger part in the 'sinful' total.
Ashantay: The sin taxes cut across all socio-economic levels, from the occasional glass of wine with dinner or buying a $1 scratcher lottery ticket once a month to the confirmed alcoholic or compulsive gambler.
Thanks for your comment.
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