Increased Taxes on Alcohol?

Usually, raising taxes...on anything...isn’t something that most people are too fond of. However, there’s been a lot of support recently for raising taxes on alcohol, and that’s because a study conducted by the University of Florida in Gainesville has posted that higher alcohol taxes might just equal a lower number of drunk driving related accidents.

The study looked at the state of Illinois, which raised its alcohol taxes back in 2009. The tax increase applied to beer, wine, and distilled spirits. Following the tax increase, deaths related to drunk driving dropped by more than a quarter.

The thought now is that if increased taxes were applied to alcohol in other states, more drunk driving and alcohol related deaths could be prevented. Others, however, think the decrease in drunk driving related incidents was just a coincidence and point out that such incidents were already steadily going down before the new taxes were implemented.

Many people also argue that those with alcohol dependency are still going to buy alcohol, regardless of the increased tax, and that it’s responsible consumers who will suffer. While there is a lot of debate surrounding the study and support on both sides of the study, it will likely be quite some time before we see a nationwide increase on alcohol taxes, if we ever do.