No Drink Tax

State legislatures and governors should not turn to alcohol taxes to balance their budgets. Increasing alcohol taxes costs jobs and disproportionally hurts those who are least able to pay.

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.

SARAH LONGWELL, managing director, American Beverage Institute, Washington, D.C.