Britannica tells me 18:46 Jul 1, 2012
"Some excises, most notably those on motor fuels, are justified as “benefit taxes” related to costs of providing public services. Others, sometimes called “sin taxes,” may be intended to discourage consumption (e.g., of alcohol and tobacco) ..." Wikipedia speaks of "Steuern mit Umverteilungszweck" which would be your "distributional purpose", it knows of "Lenkungszweck", when taxes influence behavior, but nothing about providing public benefits. The thought is of the object of taxation not so much its purpose. |