title: Assessing Patterns of Alcohol Taxes Produced by Various Types of Excise Tax Methods--A Simulation Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine patterns of tax burdens produced by specific, ad valorem, and various types of combination taxations.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred unique hypothetical alcoholic beverages were mathematically simulated based on the amount of ethanol and perceived-qualities contained. Second, beverages were assigned values of various costs and tax rates, and third, patterns of tax burden were assessed per unit of ethanol produced by each type of tax method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Different tax methods produced different tax burdens per unit of ethanol for different alcoholic beverages. The tax burden produced by the ad valorem tax resulted in a lower tax burden for low perceived-quality alcoholic beverages. The specific tax method showed the same tax burden for both low and high perceived-quality alcoholic beverages. However, high perceived-quality beverages benefited from a lower tax burden per beverage price. Lastly, the combination tax method resulted in a lower tax burden for medium perceived-quality alcoholic beverages.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Under the oligopoly market, ad valorem taxation encourages consumption of low perceived-quality beverages; specific taxation encourages consumption of high perceived-quality beverages; and combination tax methods encourage consumption of medium perceived-quality beverages.
authors.affiliation: ThaiHealth Promotion Foundation, Bangkok, Thailand Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), PAHO/WHO Collaborating Centre for Mental Health and Addiction, Toronto, Canada bundit.sornpaisarn@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Bundit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sornpaisarn
authors.affiliation: Center for Alcohol Studies, Bangkok, Thailand.
authors.forename: Chuthaporn
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kaewmungkun
authors.affiliation: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), PAHO/WHO Collaborating Centre for Mental Health and Addiction, Toronto, Canada Institute of Medical Science (IMS), University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Toronto, Canada Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada Epidemiological Research Unit, Technische Universität Dresden, Klinische Psychologie & Psychotheratie, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rehm
mesh_terms: D000434:Alcoholic Beverages / Q000191:economics*; D003132:Commerce / Q000191:economics*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D000431:Ethanol / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D013660:Taxes / Q000191:economics*
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol