Monetary Policy

March 1, 2014

Sin Taxes: the Examples of Alcohol and Tobacco

So‐called “sin” taxes are very much in fashion in France and elsewhere. With the aim of reducing “sinful” behaviour and financing the health care system, public authorities are planning to raise the tax load on alcohol and tobacco even higher.
March 1, 2014

The Government Debt Iceberg

Western governments have developed unfunded social insurance programmes where retiree benefits are paid for from the taxes of the working-age population. This means that an ageing population leads to 
rising expenditures that cannot be covered without increasing taxes on the young.