Thank you for the feedback; I’ve updated the post for another attempt on improved clarity with your concerns in mind. I think the optimal tax amount could be empirically determined. The use of the word “sin” carries baggage that could be avoided without its use; there is no retributive intent or even need to match the extent of negative externality; rather, there is just some theoretical tax rate and increase timeline that would reduce net harm. An empirical approach could explore various rate increases and their effects, using various proxies of both payment and compliance to estimate how the market is impacted.
Thank you for the feedback; I’ve updated the post for another attempt on improved clarity with your concerns in mind. I think the optimal tax amount could be empirically determined. The use of the word “sin” carries baggage that could be avoided without its use; there is no retributive intent or even need to match the extent of negative externality; rather, there is just some theoretical tax rate and increase timeline that would reduce net harm. An empirical approach could explore various rate increases and their effects, using various proxies of both payment and compliance to estimate how the market is impacted.