No Drink Tax

The Illinois Legislature would be wrong to raise taxes on alcohol ["More state tax on beer, wine, liquor?" May 16]. Increasing alcohol taxes costs jobs and disproportionally hurts those who are least able to pay them.

According to the Tax Foundation, individuals earning less than $20,000 a year face federal alcohol tax burdens that are more than 18 times higher than individuals making in excess of $200,000.

 

Not only are hospitality taxes on wine, beer, and spirits regressive, they also contribute to job loss: after the federal government doubled the beer tax in 1991, about 60,000 Americans in the brewing, distributing and retailing industries lost their jobs.