luxury tax

plural luxury taxes

1. Any tax on the sale of items not considered to be essential to a reasonable standard of living, for the purpose of increasing revenue, discouraging the use of certain articles, or both.

   He has suggested raising “sin taxes” on cigarettes, liquor and arcade games to pay for the 24-percent teacher pay raise he supports.

   1963 May 1, Kathryn Baker, “White Facing Realities: Time, Cash”, in Victoria Advocate, Texas, USA, retrieved 29 Sep 2012, page 16A

   2 more examples

   Another form of consumption tax that some foresee is a “sin tax”, which would come in the form of higher excise taxes on alcohol and tobacco.

   1988 Dec. 19, Jan M. Rosen, "Tax Watch: The Likely Forms Of New Taxes," New York Times (retrieved 29 Sep 2012)

   The sin tax is an established tactic. In the early 1500s, Pope Leo X underwrote his lavish lifestyle in part by taxing licensed prostitutes.

   2009 April 2, Alex Altman, “A Brief History Of: Sin Taxes”, in Time