FACT SHEET: THE CASE AN INCREASE IN THE STATE ALCOHOL TAX

Note: HB 904, co-sponsored by Delegates Ana Sol Gutierrez and Tom Hucker, would increase the excise tax on alcohol. Here are the facts that have led us to support the Bill.

A SIX PACK OF REASONS TO INCREASE THE BOOZE TAX IN MARYLAND:

1. BELOW AVERAGE

The Maryland excise tax on alcohol is way below the national averages:

**Marylanders pay 9 cents per gallon of beer (vs. 24 cents, national. avg.)—less than a penny per 12-oz. can;

**We pay 40 cents per gallon of wine (vs. 74 cents, natl. avg.)—or 8 cents for each 750mL bottle of wine.

**We pay $1.50 per gallon of liquor (vs. $3.62, natl. avg.)—or 30 cents for each “fifth” of “distilled spirits”

2. INFLATION

Is the sales tax the same as it was in 1955? That’s the date of the last increase in the excise tax on liquor. Is the real estate property tax the same as it was in 1972? That’s the date of the last increase in the excise tax on beer and wine.

The current MD tax on alcohol, adjusted for inflation, is 2 cents per 10+ cans of beer, 10 cents per gallon wine, and less than a nickel per bottle of liquor.

3. COST/BENEFIT

In 2005, the Federal government collected $8.9 billion in excise taxes on alcohol. But the economic and social costs totaled $184 billion, or $20 in expense for every $1 collected.

The hidden costs include health care, criminal justice, social services, property damage and loss of productivity.

4. LIFE SAVERS

At NIH, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism finds that raising taxes on beer reduces consumption among those under age 21, and thus reduces automobile fatalities.

The National Academy of Sciences urges an increase in the tax on beer.

In March 2007, the US Surgeon General’s paper on underage drinking supported any measure to decrease availability.

5. PUBLIC GOOD

Directly, and indirectly, alcohol consumption costs Maryland taxpayers in expenditures such as health care (Medicaid, emergency room visits), criminal justice (imprisonment for crimes committed under the influence), social services (foster/adopted children), and lost productivity (absenteeism, job accidents).

The community, has a whole, pays for the costs generated by the few.

6. PUBLIC SUPPORT

In June 2006, the Open Society Institute sample of likely voters found that two of every three persons supported a tax increase on alcohol.

Last spring, the Maryland House of Delegates and the Maryland Senate defeated bills that would have increased that tax.

Does your legislator co-sponsor and/or support HB904? Why not?