Excise tax in the United States
Excise tax, sometimes called an excise duty,
is a type of tax. In the United States, the term
"excise" means: (A) any tax other than a
property tax or capitation (i.e., an indirect
tax, or excise,
in the constitutional
law
sense), or (B) a tax that is simply called an
excise in the language of the statute impos-
ing that tax (an excise in the statutory law
sense). An excise under definition (A) is not
necessarily the same as an excise under
definition (B). Excise taxes are often seen as
a tax on items like gasoline, tobacco and al-
cohol (sometimes referred to as sin taxes).
The tax may be a flat amount for a certain
quantity of the item (for example, the state of
Arkansas charges 59 cents for a pack of 20
cigarettes).[1]
Constitutional law
In the U.S. constitutional law sense, an ex-
cise is essentially an event tax (as opposed to
a state of being tax).
An example of a state of being tax is an ad
valorem property tax (which is not an excise).
A property tax may be imposed on the prop-
erty or the person who owns that property at
a certain moment on (for example) January 1
of each year based on the state of title at that
given moment. The "state of title" (state of
ownership) -- of property by reason of its
ownership -- is being taxed. The next year, on
January 1st, another such tax is imposed
again in the same way on the same property
and person, even though there has been no
change in the ownership (no intervening
event). The amount of the tax may change
from year to year, based on the change in the
value of the property or a change in the tax
rate, or both, but those are separate issues
governing how the tax is computed. What is
being taxed, fundamentally, is the state of
title -- and the state of title is a state of being,
not an event.
By contrast, excises are generally taxes on
events. A realization of income (such as a re-
ceipt of wages) is an event. A sale is an
event. A transfer of title by gift is an event. A
transfer of title because of death is an event.
Income taxes,