Is beer taxation a regressive, proportional, or progressive tax if vie

Is beer taxation a regressive, proportional, or progressive tax if viewed as a point in time? Please explain your answer. What about if viewed over a person’s lifetime? If your answer changes, please explain why.

What will be an ideal response?

ANSWER

Viewed at a point in time, beer taxation is regressive because the low-income people drink more beer as a percentage of their income than do higher income individuals. Viewed over a lifetime, however, beer taxation is probably progressive because a large amount of the beer consumption among low-income individuals during any period is among college students, who will, on average, have higher incomes over their lifetimes.