Health Care for Children or Tax Breaks for Big Beer? 

Congress faces tough choices as lawmakers seek to maintain budget discipline and find resources to fund the State Children’s Health Insurance (S-CHIP) and other essential health care programs. Alcohol excise tax increases represent one well-justified and available source of revenue. Taxes on alcohol are low and long overdue for increases (the last one occurred in 1991).

 

Taxes do not impose much of a burden (if any) on the vast majority of consumers, and they can provide a source of significant revenue--both to meet budget needs and to help reduce the harmful effects of alcohol use.

 

Resources

 

 

Federal Alcohol Excise Tax Basics  

The Case for Alcohol Excise Tax Increases 

Coalition Letter Supporting an Alcohol Tax Increase 

Small Change, Big Difference: Understanding Issues Related to Increases in Alcohol Taxes (June 2008)

Those Incredibly Shrinking Alcohol Excise Taxes 

Sample Proposals for Increasing Excise Taxes 

Responses to Misleading Industry Propaganda 

Addressing Regressivity: Do Higher Alcohol Taxes Really Hurt Lower Income People? 

Research on Alcohol Excise Taxes and Public Health and Safety Policy 

Noted Economists Support Higher Taxes on Alcoholic Beverage 

 

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