Abstract
Objective: The main purpose of this study was to estimate the tax revenue lost by state and federal governments as a result of adverse labor market outcomes attributable to opioid misuse. Methods: We pair existing, plausibly causal estimates of the effect of opioid misuse on the decline in the labor force from 2000 to 2016 with a variety of data sources to compute tax revenues lost by state and federal governments using the online TAXSIM calculator. Results: We find that between 2000 and 2016, opioid misuse cost state governments $11.8 billion, including $1.7 billion in lost sales tax revenue and $10.1 billion in lost income tax revenue. In addition, the federal government lost $26.0 billion in income tax revenue. Conclusions: By omitting lost tax revenue due to labor force exits, prior studies have missed an important component of opioid-related costs borne by state and federal governments. Policy Implications: As more states and the federal government contemplate litigation for opioid-related damages, lost tax revenue represents an important cost that could be recouped and allocated to opioid prevention and treatment programs.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 494-497 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Journal | Medical care |
| Volume | 57 |
| Issue number | 7 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jul 1 2019 |
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All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
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Revenue Losses to State and Federal Government From Opioid-related Employment Reductions. / Segel, Joel E.; Shi, Yunfeng; Moran, John R.; Scanlon, Dennis P.
In: Medical care, Vol. 57, No. 7, 01.07.2019, p. 494-497.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - Revenue Losses to State and Federal Government From Opioid-related Employment Reductions
AU - Segel, Joel E.
AU - Shi, Yunfeng
AU - Moran, John R.
AU - Scanlon, Dennis P.
PY - 2019/7/1
Y1 - 2019/7/1
N2 - Objective: The main purpose of this study was to estimate the tax revenue lost by state and federal governments as a result of adverse labor market outcomes attributable to opioid misuse. Methods: We pair existing, plausibly causal estimates of the effect of opioid misuse on the decline in the labor force from 2000 to 2016 with a variety of data sources to compute tax revenues lost by state and federal governments using the online TAXSIM calculator. Results: We find that between 2000 and 2016, opioid misuse cost state governments $11.8 billion, including $1.7 billion in lost sales tax revenue and $10.1 billion in lost income tax revenue. In addition, the federal government lost $26.0 billion in income tax revenue. Conclusions: By omitting lost tax revenue due to labor force exits, prior studies have missed an important component of opioid-related costs borne by state and federal governments. Policy Implications: As more states and the federal government contemplate litigation for opioid-related damages, lost tax revenue represents an important cost that could be recouped and allocated to opioid prevention and treatment programs.
AB - Objective: The main purpose of this study was to estimate the tax revenue lost by state and federal governments as a result of adverse labor market outcomes attributable to opioid misuse. Methods: We pair existing, plausibly causal estimates of the effect of opioid misuse on the decline in the labor force from 2000 to 2016 with a variety of data sources to compute tax revenues lost by state and federal governments using the online TAXSIM calculator. Results: We find that between 2000 and 2016, opioid misuse cost state governments $11.8 billion, including $1.7 billion in lost sales tax revenue and $10.1 billion in lost income tax revenue. In addition, the federal government lost $26.0 billion in income tax revenue. Conclusions: By omitting lost tax revenue due to labor force exits, prior studies have missed an important component of opioid-related costs borne by state and federal governments. Policy Implications: As more states and the federal government contemplate litigation for opioid-related damages, lost tax revenue represents an important cost that could be recouped and allocated to opioid prevention and treatment programs.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85062848551&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85062848551&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1097/MLR.0000000000001107
DO - 10.1097/MLR.0000000000001107
M3 - Article
C2 - 30844906
AN - SCOPUS:85062848551
VL - 57
SP - 494
EP - 497
JO - Medical Care
JF - Medical Care
SN - 0025-7079
IS - 7
ER -