A tax levied on individual commodities or services and included as part of the retail price of those commodities or services paid by consumers. For example, a 25¢ tax levied on a pack of cigarettes is a consumption tax. Consumption taxes are advocated by many people as an inducement to increase savings in the economy. These people argue that the present taxation of income penalizes savers and rewards spenders. Compare excise tax, value-added tax.
