Smoking
Subtitle: taxing health and social security
By: Brian S. Armour and M. Melinda Pitts
Contributors: Pitts, M. Melinda; Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
Series: Working paper series / Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta -- 2006-12; Working paper series (Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta : Online) -- 2006-12.
Publisher: Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
Published: 2006
Place of publication: Atlanta, Ga.]
Language: eng
Format: [electronic resource] :
Description: "While the health risks associated with smoking are well known, the impact on income distributions is not. This paper extends the literature by examining the distributional effects of a behavioral choice, in this case smoking, on net marginal Social Security tax rates (NMSSTR). The results show that smokers, as a result of shorter life expectancies, incur a higher NMSSTR than nonsmokers. In addition, as low-earnings workers have a higher smoking prevalence than high-earnings workers, smoking works to widen the income distribution. This higher tax rate could have implications for both labor supply behavior and Social Security system funding. "--Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta web site.
Notes: Title from PDF file as viewed on Oct. 5, 2006

Includes bibliographical references.

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Mode of access: World Wide Web.