Microeconomics position paper information?

[espkh123]

Hey guys, let me get started here by saying "Hi" I have been on a hiatus recently due to all my gear breaking and me being too poor to buy anything really good.
Im back to smoking cigarettes until I can save enough money to buy an ipv w/ the new aspire sub-ohm tank.
Anyways, thats not the point of this.

I am writting a position paper in my microeconomics class.

The paper is on why e-cigs and alike should not receive the sin tax that certain officials have been opting for.
I need economic data on the industry, the elasticity of the market, and other things.
I want to write about why putting the sin tax on this is a bad idea due to the health beneifits, the elasticity of the market, and other industry data to back it up.
I also want to compare the proposed sin tax to the current one on cigarettes.
If anyone has any helpful links about any of this it would be much appreciated.

 

[stevegmu]

There's a proposed federal sin tax on e-cigs? The proposals I have seen are on the local/state level, so you would need to look at how such a tax would affect and has affected the localities where such taxes are proposed, not the industry as a whole, or the market as a whole. Not sure how you can get it done in 1 day, but maybe research standards and professors' expectations have changed since I was at the university...

 

[GrandPapa]

Hi,
Hope this isn't too late for you. But if you want you can submit my situation.
I was a smoker for 58 years (just over a pack a day). I picked up e-cigarette in June of this year and then upgraded to more advanced vapers
Since I picked up the advanced Vapers I have eliminated my smoking habit for the last 6-8 weeks and don't even crave a cigarette. I am a COPD (emphysema) inflicted
seventy year old, and since vaping my coughing has diminished, I don't stink like an ashtray, I breath easier with the no out of breath situations (unless I over exert myself) and my wife if happier.
I have previously tried all the other cease smoking aids with no luck and always craving a cig while using them. Now I don't even crave a cigarette.
Jim
p.s Feel free to copy this and use my real name
James MacGregor, Surrey, b.c., Canada

 

[espkh123]

There's a proposed federal sin tax on e-cigs? The proposals I have seen are on the local/state level, so you would need to look at how such a tax would affect and has affected the localities where such taxes are proposed, not the industry as a whole, or the market as a whole. Not sure how you can get it done in 1 day, but maybe research standards and professors' expectations have changed since I was at the university...

None on the federal level, I planned on using states that tried to propose it as an example. No federal propositions have been proposed, but I read somewhere there has been talk among people with that power about doing it and regulating it further.

 

[espkh123]

Hi,
Hope this isn't too late for you. But if you want you can submit my situation.
I was a smoker for 58 years (just over a pack a day). I picked up e-cigarette in June of this year and then upgraded to more advanced vapers
Since I picked up the advanced Vapers I have eliminated my smoking habit for the last 6-8 weeks and don't even crave a cigarette. I am a COPD (emphysema) inflicted
seventy year old, and since vaping my coughing has diminished, I don't stink like an ashtray, I breath easier with the no out of breath situations (unless I over exert myself) and my wife if happier.
I have previously tried all the other cease smoking aids with no luck and always craving a cig while using them. Now I don't even crave a cigarette.
Jim
p.s Feel free to copy this and use my real name
James MacGregor, Surrey, b.c., Canada

Thanks a lot! I will definitely use you as a testimony!
Congratulations on making the switch, happy to see someone change their life for the better!

 

[stevegmu]

I would focus it more on the microeconomic scale and pick a city where it has been proposed...

 

[espkh123]

I understand, I think that may better for micro since macro is the large scale and micro is the many transactions that make up the big picture.
I saw an article a long time ago about a certain state that wanted to impose a 100% sin tax on the sale of electronic cigarettes and the juice. Do you remember what state that was?
That case is the most extreme I have seen and would like to refrence that.
Otherwise I will set my eyes on New Jersey's proposed tax.

 

[stevegmu]

I don't keep up with such things, so don't know. From a revenue side to counter the tax, I would research the state which greatly increased their cigar tax years ago- I think it was Minnesota, and they actually lost tax revenue due to the higher taxes.

 

[espkh123]

I don't keep up with such things, so don't know. From a revenue side to counter the tax, I would research the state which greatly increased their cigar tax years ago- I think it was Minnesota, and they actually lost tax revenue due to the higher taxes.

I didn't even think about that as a possibility. Thanks a lot for the help!

 

[Lessifer]

Maybe you can cull some data from here: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...-hearing-scheduled-sept-24-please-attend.html

And scour the rest of the legislation news forum also.

 

[sofarsogood]

You can bring up some other issues. Taxing the devices is problematic because I believe the courts would not allow it. Unlike tobacco anybody can make their own liquids easily. A tax would hurt local vape shops so more mail order, fewer local shops. Vaping is going to be a huge industry as tobacco shrinks. States that are unfrienly to that industry won't get the businesses or the jobs. There is also the problem that the facts don't support the public health threats they pray for.

You might research the size of current tobacco taxes reletive to other taxes. You might find tobacco taxes are a very significant contributor to the total so declining tobacco taxes will cause economic pain. Everybody who doesn't smoke benefits from tobacco taxes. The benefit is significant because the dollars are significant. All of those people have a conflict of interest. That is being ignored so far.

If I was a cruel uncaring person I could say that now that vaping has helped me it's better for all the remaining smokers to keep smoking and keep paying tobacco taxes for my benefit.

The best macro economic numbers I can find seem to be that 1 billion + smokers spend $1 trillion on tobacco annually and 75% of that is collected as taxes. If you find better numbers in your research it would be nice if you could correct me on that.