No, seriously. This is fiscal stimulus:
Amid a financial crisis that is cutting jobs and eroding growth, there is finally good news for Russians.
The head of the new state alcohol agency — gleefully dubbed the Ministry for Vodka by the press — is advocating cutting taxes on vodka to make the country’s national tipple more accessible, the Izvestia daily reported.
Igor Chuiyan, the former head of state alcohol monopoly Rosspirtprom, has been appointed head of the new federal agency for alcohol market regulation, or Rosalkogol for short.
Without citing its sources, the paper said he advocates slashing the tax on a litre of pure alcohol from the current 190.8 rubles ($A9) to 100 rubles $A4.50).
This would mean that the tax on half litre of vodka would be cut to around 20 rubles from the current rate of 38 rubles, it said.
There’s a health motivation for the tax cut too. The article reports that high taxes have created a large black market in counterfeit vodkas and resulted in dangerously adulterated products.
That’s not a problem here in the US, but there’s a case to be made that the most effective fiscal stimulus would be cuts in our most regressive taxes, like consumption taxes or the FICA/Medicare payroll deductions. Ed Glaeser argues the point here (previously linked on Friday’s sidebar).
[Via TMN.]
Jacob Grier is a freelance writer, bartender, cocktail consultant, and magician in Portland, Oregon. He writes, eats, and drinks a lot. His articles have appeared in the print or online editions of The Washington Post, The Atlantic, The Los Angeles Times, Reason, The Oregonian, and other publications.
Imagine the tax revenue we could get by legalizing marijuana…
Yeah, and the stimulus that would provide for spending on Taco Bell and White Castle…
If it ever happens, I’m buying a crapload of Funyuns stock.
Yay! Nothing like making alcoholism even cheaper! Cause um, vodka in Russia wasn’t cheap enough. Seriously, that shit is like $2.00 a bottle.