Sulla composizione dell'accisa sui tabacchi: un'ipotesi di modifica del sistema di tassazione in Italia

An appropriate structure of tobacco taxation should balance only apparently contrasting health, industrial and fiscal aims. In this paper, it will be discussed the main critical issues of the present system of tobacco taxation in Italy and some hypotheses of reform. In particular, it will be proposed to link the structure of tobacco taxation to the weighted average price and to change the mix of the excise taxes towards specific taxation. The simulation of the impact of these proposals will show that the common opinion that an increase of the excise tax will reduce tax revenue, with respect to the present system, is not grounded in the data. The main reason lies in the possibility that a reduction of the ad valorem part of taxation will give stronger incentive to increase consumption prices.