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"tax stamps from before and after Prohibition's passage" because the after part?? less stamps sold post prohibition than pre would be an indication of less use
by rootedbox 11y ago
"tax stamps from before and after Prohibition's passage"
because the after part?? less stamps sold post prohibition than pre would be an indication of less use.
- waterlesscloud 11y agoOr that the illegal trade carried on for a while after, thus reducing legal sales.
- johngalt 11y agoIf you've already built the infrastructure and practices to smuggle an illegal good, it is unlikely that you immediately start paying taxes once it becomes legal.
- joshmarinacci 11y agoThe illegal sale of something has risks and costs (obviously) so the criminals will only engage in it if the price of the good being sold is high enough. When prohibition started the price of alcohol went up to cover the risk of selling it illegally. Once prohibition ended the price dropped and it was no longer worth the risk to selling it illegally. However, you are correct that they had already built up the infrastructure and practices for smuggling, so they simply moved to other more profitable goods like guns, harder drugs, and people.
- pkinsky 11y agoAssuming the black-market networks created as a response to prohibition shut down completely, of course. They may have continued operating as a means of tax avoidance, leading to less taxed consumption post-prohibition.