The perverse provision would have discouraged smokers from switching to a far less hazardous source of nicotine
Senate Democrats have nixed the idea of imposing a new federal tax on nicotine vaping products, which would have disadvantaged a potentially lifesaving alternative to cigarettes and violated President Joe Biden’s pledge to avoid raising taxes on American households that earn less than $400,000 a year.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D–Nev.), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, “pushed to remove the tax,” which was included in the House version of the Build Back Better spending package, and “helped force its deletion.”
House Democrats originally proposed a $100.66 excise tax per 1,810 milligrams of nicotine in e-liquids, which would have added about $60 to the cost of a high-strength 60-milliliter bottle containing 18 milligrams of nicotine per milliliter. For some products, retailers reported, the tax would have doubled or tripled the retail price. The same proposal also would have increased the federal excise tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products, yielding an estimated $96 billion in new revenue over a decade.
Jacob Sullum – Reason – 2021-12-12.
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