New Federal Alcohol Tax on the Way?

Now that the Federal government is raising the tobacco tax on April 1st, it looks as if they are examining alcohol as the next revenue generator. California is getting close to legalizing marijuana for the sole purpose of benefiting from the tax revenues it will create. There is also talk of taxing car and truck drivers on the amount of mileage they put on their vehicles (an emissions tax). The United States is losing its wealth generation ability rapidly while at the same time the budget deficit is growing dramatically. Many new taxes will be coming along to pay for all of the United States' financial shortcomings.

It stands to reason that, in this depressed economy, they will probably hit alcohol as well. In a recent poll by CSPI, the results showed that 79% of the respondents favored a Federal alcohol tax increase. Here is an interesting quote from the CSPI article. "Even 68 percent of Republicans surveyed and 70 percent of drinkers would support raising alcohol taxes over cutting programs such as food stamps, Medicaid, and drug benefits for the elderly."

The Economists Declaration On Federal Alcohol Excise Taxes has quite an impressive list of economics professors and colleges who are backing a new Federal alcohol tax. They have broken down the costs of alcoholism and alcohol abuse and find it to be in the $185 billion per year range on a national level. Their belief is that the beverages causing this extra financial stress on the nation should be taxed at a higher rate to help pay for the problems it causes.

An additional tenet of the pro tax crowd is that increased alcohol taxes will help to offset the current Federal budget woes. Estimates of $20 billion in increased revenues over the next few years have been floated and promoted. This would be a hefty sum to help the staggering government. The general public appears to be amenable to the idea, so it does not appear that it will get much opposition when and if the time comes to vote on this new tax.

Taxes for beer and wine have only been raised once in the past 55 years. Liquor taxes have only been raised twice in the same time frame. Maybe a new Federal alcohol tax is overdue? One of the things that may end up concerning the drinking folks could be the amount of the tax if it goes through. The new Federal tobacco tax going into effect April 1st is quite hefty. (New Federal Tobacco Tax Means Michigan Smokers Getting Double Taxed). A lot of smokers think that tax is obscenely high. As bad as things are in the United States government at present, they may take this opportunity to become greedy at this juncture.

Here are the current tax rates on all forms of alcohol at the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax And Trade Bureau, U.S. Department of the Treasury . Pick your drink of choice, and then you can probably double the current tax rate. My guess is that alcohol will be taxed again, and it will be a significant hike at that.

Also see -California on the Way to Legalizing Marijuana, Federal Government Next?
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1568441/california_on_the_way_to_legalizing.html?cat=17

Thanks for reading.