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‘Shall Become Exclusive:’ An Economic Analysis of Section 90 *
Author(s) -
SHAPIRO PERRY,
PETCHEY JEFFREY
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
economic record
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.365
H-Index - 42
eISSN - 1475-4932
pISSN - 0013-0249
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-4932.1994.tb01836.x
Subject(s) - excise , commonwealth , section (typography) , constitution , economics , revenue , tax revenue , international trade , public economics , business , political science , law , finance , advertising , macroeconomics
Section 90 of the Constitution gave the power to impose excise duties exclusively to the Commonwealth. Sometimes it is argued that the Founders were motivated by a concern to ensure free interstate trade. We show that Section 90 may have reduced interstate trade distortions but equally it may have increased them and created a large excise revenue surplus for the Commonwealth. There is, therefore, a case for giving excise tax powers back to the States and allowing them to cooperate through an interstate compact. There may be a role for the Commonwealth in monitoring and enforcing such a compact.