‘No’ to petition against tax

    Since a small increase in Maine’s beverage tax was approved in April, a “People’s veto” petition was initiated to overturn the new beverage taxes that were passed to maintain health coverage for many of Maine’s children, families and small businesses.
    As part of the effort, misinformation regarding the alcohol tax increases have been spread by beverage petition supporters.
    This article aims to provide the facts about the alcohol tax.
    First, why an alcohol tax? In the last few years, no less than five major national research studies have called for increasing alcohol taxes as one of the key tools to reduce underage and problem drinking, including a Call to Action from the Office of the Surgeon General.
    We know that raising the price of alcohol is an effective way to reduce underage drinking, binge drinking and drinking and driving across all ages.
    Like adults, teens are price-sensitive and drink less when prices increase.
    Groups behind the beverage petition have deep pockets and the support of big national companies, especially the alcohol industry.
    They are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to overturn the minimal new taxes.
    They have hired an out-of-state signature gathering firm, and have produced wine bottle tags for stores and beer coasters for restaurants and bars urging people to sign the petition.
    However, neither the new alcohol tax increases, nor the current alcohol tax in Maine, are as high as beverage petition supporters indicate.
    Yes, the increase doubles the current excise tax, but that tax is mere pennies and hasn’t gone up in nearly 30 years.
    The new taxes amount to 3 cents per can of beer and 7 cents on a bottle of wine. So, consumers pay a total of about 6 cents for a beer, and 4 cents for a glass of wine.
    Even with this tax increase, beer is cheaper now (adjusted for inflation) than it was 30 years ago.
    In Maine, the heaviest 5 percent of drinkers consume over a third of all alcohol, with 45 percent of Mainers basically being non-drinkers. The average drinker would see an increase of less than $20 per year.
    Maine isn’t the first state to see an aggressive campaign by the alcohol industry in response to a tax increase.
    The reality is that this is a lot less about Maine people and taxes than it is about the alcohol industry protecting its bottom line. Aggressive campaigns are playing out across the nation as states are eyeing alcohol taxes as a means to address the public health and safety problems associated with alcohol abuse.
    The dozens of individuals and agencies that came forward to testify on behalf of the increase, and the hundreds that signed resolutions in support of alcohol taxes, did so out of an understanding that we are all paying for the cost of alcohol abuse.
    And that cost is getting higher every year.
 The fact that Maine continues to rank high in both underage drinking and youth binge-drinking came home with tragic consequences last Fall with the alcohol related death of a young man from Aroostook County.
    Knowing what we do now, we urge you all to say “No, thanks,” to signing this petition because we know that a few extra pennies on beer, wine and soda is a reasonable price to pay to help Maine kids, families and small businesses keep their health insurance and improve the health of our young people and the safety of our communities by reducing underage and problem drinking.
    If you are interested in being contacted to voice your support for an alcohol tax in the future, please go to www.asapcoalition.com
    Chief Gahagan is chief of police for Caribou Police Department. Clare Derosiers is project director for Aroostook Substance Abuse Prevention.