Alcohol tax hike unfair, inhospitable

The Times of Trenton
March 20, 2009

Gov. Jon Corzine is wrong to call for higher taxes on alcohol in his budget. Increasing alcohol taxes costs jobs and disproportionately hurts those who are least able to pay them.

According to the Tax Foundation, individuals earning less than $20,000 per 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, approximately 60,000 Americans in the brewing, distributing and retailing industries lost their jobs from a shrunken industry.

Too often, hospitality taxes are treated like an ATM to generate extra revenue to make up for wasteful government spending. As Americans struggle through tough economic conditions, New Jersey could not pick a worse time to increase taxes.

-- SARAH LONGWELL Washington, D.C.
The writer is managing director of the American Beverage Institute.