Md. advocates back increase in liquor tax

Public health advocates are rallying behind a 10 cents-per-drink increase in Maryland's alcohol tax to protect programs that could fall victim to the next round of state cuts needed to avoid a projected $2 billion budget shortfall.

Del. William A. Bronrott and Sen. Richard S. Madaleno Sr., both Montgomery County Democrats, said Monday that they plan to introduce legislation that would raise $200 million through higher liquor taxes. The money would pay for programs to prevent and treat substance abuse and fill other funding gaps in health-related services.

A coalition of health advocates who support the move said the tax also would reduce alcohol consumption.

A similar bill advocating a 5-cent increase failed to pass last year, and supporters acknowledged that there will be an uphill battle to pass one this session.

House Speaker Michael E. Busch said on WBAL radio that "the hospitality industry ... is suffering quite a downturn" and higher taxes would be a burden to struggling restaurants and bars. Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller sounded a similarly pessimistic note about the chances of passage, according to WBAL.

But advocates for a tax increase remain hopeful.

"You've been hearing there is no way an alcohol tax can pass," said Vincent DeMarco, president of the Maryland Citizen's Health Initiative, comparing the effort with an earlier successful campaign to increase the tax on cigarettes. "Just as the tobacco industry fell, the alcohol industry will fall," he predicted.

Consumers now pay about a penny in taxes per drink, advocates for the change said. The tax rate on beer and wine has not been raised since 1972. And there has been no tax increase on spirits since 1955.

The bill would add 60 cents to a six-pack of beer and about 55 cents to a bottle of wine, Bronrott said.