Marin Institute Recommends Long Overdue Tax Increase

SAN RAFAEL, CA (January 7, 2008) --- Marin Institute, the California-based alcohol industry watchdog, recommended today that Governor Schwarzenegger and state legislators raise taxes on wine, beer and distilled spirits to help reduce the state’s $14 billion budget shortfall.

“A simple 25 cents per drink increase would generate almost $3 billion in revenue,” said Bruce Livingston, MPP, executive director of Marin Institute. “Raising the alcohol tax for the first time in 16 years is a common sense and fiscally responsible option to help close the budget gap.”

The last alcohol tax increase in California in 1992 was only a penny on a glass of wine and two cents per can of beer and shot of spirits. Since that time, rising inflation has led to a 33% net decrease in state alcohol taxes. (See chart below.) At the same time, alcohol-related problems have increased dramatically, and now cost the state tens of billions of dollars annually in criminal justice, illness, injuries, and myriad other costs.

“Each year thousands of lives in California are cut short or forever damaged due to alcohol,” said Michele Simon, JD, MPH, Marin Institute’s research and policy director. “By not requiring industry to pay its fare share of the massive costs of its products, the state is actually subsidizing the alcohol industry. Now is the time for our elected leaders to find the political will to push through a long-overdue alcohol tax increase,” Simon added.

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