Excise Tax Application and Trends by Ulrik Boesen published by Tax Foundation (3/2021).
“In 2019, excise taxes accounted for less than 3 percent of total federal tax collections while state excise taxes on tobacco, alcohol, and motor fuel accounted for about 7 percent of total state tax revenue
Taxes levied on a transaction or good that creates a negative externality or additional costs are known as Pigouvian taxes and, when designed to discourage an activity, are often colloquially called sin taxes. Examples include tobacco taxes, sugar taxes, and carbon taxes.
For most excise taxes, the best choice of tax base is the externality-causing agent, as that provides the best proxy for costs. Because of their narrow base, revenue from excise taxes tend to be unstable, and some sources of revenue (like taxes on tobacco) are in long-term decline…”
