moral, medical and financial arguments are occasionally considered in contemporary news settings. Opposition Sin taxes result in the illegal manufacture, smuggling and/or outright theft of the taxed products, sometimes for personal use but often for sale on the black market. Critics of sin tax argue that it is a regressive tax in nature and discriminates against the lower classes. Sin taxes are often assessed at a flat rate meaning they account for a much larger portion of the price of an otherwise inexpensive product compared to high-end brands more likely to be purchased by the wealthy. Also, sin tax rates products such as alcohol or cigarettes typically do not account for ability to pay, therefore poor people pay a much greater share of their income as tax. Sin taxes fail to affect consumers' behaviors in the way that tax proponents suggest, for instance increasing smokers' propensity to smoke high-tar, high-nicotine cigarettes when the per-pack price is raised and increasing the rate of people mixing their own drinks rather than buying pre-mix alcoholic spirits. The government may become reliant on the revenue from the tax and have to encourage "sinful" behavior in order to maintain the revenue stream. Taxes collected this way often don't go to the promised programs or often to self-defeating programs. For example, many cities increase the tax on cigarettes and claim it will go towards stop smoking campaigns. See also Consumption tax Ecotax Land value tax Meat tax Müskirat resmi Paternalism Pigovian tax Sugary drink tax Taxation and regulation of alcohol production Tobacco tax References Personal taxes Tax terms