Excise tax in the United States

Excise tax in the United States is an indirect tax on listed items. Excise taxes can be and are made by federal, state and local governments and are not uniform throughout the United States. Excise taxes are collected by the producer or retailer and not paid directly by the consumer, and as such often remain "hidden" in the price of a product or service, rather than being listed separately. This is thought to explain their appeal to many politicians.

Federal excise taxes raised $98.3 billion in fiscal year 2015 or 3% of total federal tax revenue.

Excise taxes on fuel raised $37.4 billion in fiscal year 2015. These fuel taxes raised 90% of the Highway Trust Fund (18.4¢ for gasoline and 24.4¢ for diesel fuel per gallon).

Excise taxes dedicated to the Airport and Airway Trust Fund raised $14.3 billion in fiscal year 2015. 90% of the excise tax revenue comes from taxing passenger air fares and the remaining 10% comes from air cargo and aviation fuel taxes.

Excise taxes for the Affordable Care Act raised $16.3 billion in fiscal year 2015. $11.3 billion was an excise tax placed directly on health insurers based on their market share. The ACA was going to impose a 40% "Cadillac tax" on expensive employer sponsored health insurance but that was postponed until 2018. Annual excise taxes totaling $3 billion were levied on importers and manufacturers of prescription drugs. An excise tax of 2.3% on medical devices and a 10% excise tax on indoor tanning services were applied as well.

Excise taxes on tobacco raised $14.5 billion in fiscal year 2015. The tax equals about $1 per 20 pack of cigarettes.

Excise taxes on Alcohol raised $9.6 billion in fiscal year 2015.

The U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1789, gave the federal government authority to tax, stating that Congress has the power to

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