Define Excise Tax

[yokna7]

I hate to bust open the ol' "direct vs. indirect tax" can of worms, but....


Excise Tax: An excise or excise tax (sometimes called an excise duty or special tax) is a type of tax charged on goods produced within the country (as opposed to customs duties, charged on goods from outside the country). It is a tax on the production or sale of a good.[1] - wiki

I ask because it is apparently unclear to many what an excise tax is. Regarding the penalty for not enrolling in the proposed healthcare plan: "Sen. Baucus claims that the tax on the uninsured is an “indirect” excise tax — like the federal gasoline tax — that does not have to be apportioned. But Sen. Baucus appears to be in error. An excise tax is a tax on a “thing” (such as a commodity or a license). That is why an excise tax is classified as “indirect.”

People who choose not to buy insurance are not things.(actually people are things but...)

They are people. And the tax is imposed directly on them in exactly the same way as a direct income tax, except that in this instance, the tax amount does not depend on the size of the person’s income.


Ernest Christian and Betty Jo Christian of Investors Business Daily are reporting that, “The controversial tax that both Obama and Baucus would impose on people who do not buy health insurance appears to be a “direct tax” on persons that is unlawful under Article 1, Section 2, of the Constitution.”

Taken from article:
http://www.libertysarmy.com/2009/09/28/taxes/obamas-controversial-tax-on-uninsured-is-unlawful-under-article-1-section-2-of-the-constitution/

[Danke]

Income tax is an indirect tax. This privilege tax is on the activity, measured by the income it produces. I'm sure the tax they are dreaming up will also be an indirect tax.

[jm1776]

This certainly is a new twist on excise taxes! An excise tax can be a tax on a thing, as the article correctly states, or it can be a tax on a privileged activity.

Here we have an excise tax on a non-activity? A tax on not doing something? Oh! I know. It is a tax on the privilege of living and breathing without insurance.

[Live_Free_Or_Die]

nt

[Danke]

The income tax is a direct tax that has morphed into an indirect tax via constitutional amendment. The supreme kangaroo court stated it was a direct tax until the 16th amendment removed the courts ability to consider the source.

However the legitimacy of the ratification of the 16th amendment is very questionable. According to Bill Benson's research the 16th amendment was not properly ratified.

Do we still disagree on this fundamental point?

Apparently.

[Live_Free_Or_Die]

nt