The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence fights the stigma and the disease of alcoholism and other drug addictions.

NCADD Action Alert

Stop Alcohol Tax Cuts in the 108th Congress!

JANUARY 30, 2003

Last year alcohol producers gathered considerable Congressional support for legislation to slash federal excise taxes on their products (see related Action Alert). As of December 2002, when the 107th Congress adjourned, the bill had 225 co-sponsors. Additionally, just before adjournment, companion legislation was introduced in the Senate, but the Senate bill died without co-sponsors. On the first day the current Congress convened, legislation "to reduce the federal excise tax on beer to its pre-1991 level" was introduced for the fourth consecutive Session. Brewers and beer wholesalers will now push to gather co-sponsors on H.R. 52. A tax cut bill that would benefit liquor distillers will likely be reintroduced as well. Members of the alcoholic beverage industry will be out in full force, seeking federal excise tax cuts, and the 108th Congress may look favorably on such "tax relief." Reducing taxes on alcoholic beverages is bad fiscal and public health policy. Lower alcohol taxes would only add to the deficit, cater to a prosperous industry, reward and encourage heavy drinking, and attract more young drinkers. Please voice your opposition to alcohol tax cuts and urge rejection of such unwise, industry-backed proposals in the 108th Congress.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Use the sample letter below as a template for your own letter to write to your Representative and Senators urging them to oppose any reductions in federal excise taxes on alcoholic beverages, and to consider ways to increase them instead. Please FAX this to your Members office in Washington, DC, or send correspondence directly to Members' regional offices.  Learn more about the issue.  Read Talking Points developed by the Alcohol Policies Project at the Center for Science in the Public Interest  Review NCADD's Briefing Paper on Excise Taxes.  Peruse the letter sent January 17, 2003 to all members of Congress by the Coalition for the Prevention of Alcohol Problems, which NCADD co-chairs.  Examine CSPI's Myths and Facts on HR 52.

SAMPLE LETTER

Please note that all mail and all packages sent to all offices of all branches of government are now being screened for biological contaminants and other dangerous materials. Mail to members of the House of Representatives and US Senate is included in this screening process. If you prefer, you may want to telephone your Members to find out how his/her office prefers to receive correspondence from constituents. To find your Members' Washington, DC, phone numbers, call the Capitol Hill Switchboard at 202/224-3121. Look up your Representative's regional offices and email address on the official website of the House of Representatives (www.house.gov). Find information for your Senators' regional offices and email addresses on the official website of the US Senate (www.senate.gov). Send the following letter on your organization's letter head, or include your contact information if you are sending this on your own behalf. If sending via fax to Washington offices, use the following headings. If sending to Members' District offices, substitute correct address, and, if faxing to the District office, include recipient's fax number. The Honorable (Senator's full name) United States Senate Washington, D.C. 20510 OR The Honorable (Representative's full name) United States House of Representatives Washington, D.C. 20515 VIA FACSIMILE: 202/XXX-XXXX Dear Senator/Representative (Member's last name): I am writing to ask that you oppose any reductions in federal excise taxes on alcoholic beverages, and decline co-sponsorship of bills promoted by the beer and liquor industries to substantially reduce excise taxes on those products (beer tax rollback bill H.R. 52, and any bill that may be introduced to reduce liquor taxes). For the following reasons, such legislation is bad public health and fiscal policy: The economic and social costs of drinking already far exceed alcohol tax revenues. Federal tax revenues from alcoholic beverages totaled nearly $7.7 billion in 2001, while according to a government report the cost to society was estimated at $184 billion in 1998. Now is not the time to sacrifice important revenues when the federal deficit is projected to soar to near record levels of $200 to $300 billion in the next two years. Lowering taxes on alcoholic beverages will help stabilize or reduce prices, making those products more available to underage drinkers. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism has confirmed the link between alcohol prices and the quantity and frequency of youth drinking, as well as the link between prices and the rate of teen auto-crash fatalities. Slashing taxes on alcoholic beverages – particularly beer – could lead to 600 more teen deaths per year in alcohol-related traffic crashes. Despite an increase in 1991, alcohol taxes are low by historical standards. Due to inflation, both the rates and revenues have dwindled dramatically over the past 50 years. Adjusted for inflation, alcoholic beverages are actually at least 25% cheaper today than they were in 1951. By wide margins, the American public supports increases – not decreases – in alcohol taxes. That's because more than 35% don’t drink at all and among those who do, most drink so little that they would barely notice a tax decrease (or increase). Alcohol tax cuts would benefit only producers and their heaviest drinking customers, the 20% of drinkers who consume 85% of the alcohol. The vast majority of adult drinkers (75%) average just 5 drinks per week and account for only 13% of adult consumption. Alcohol producers are prospering, and despite assertions that the tax cuts would benefit consumers, they have not hesitated to raise prices periodically to maximize profits. They aren't concerned about ordinary consumers because they know that most of their revenue comes from the least price-sensitive heavy drinkers, who are either addicted or potentially in trouble with alcohol. Please put the best interests of public health and safety and the young people of America ahead of alcohol companies' profits and the pocketbooks of their heavy-drinking best customers. I hope you will reject all efforts to reduce federal taxes on alcoholic beverages and consider ways to increase them instead. Thank you for your consideration and reply. Sincerely, Name Title

National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc.

244 East 58th Street, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10022 phone: 212/269-7797   fax: 212/269-7510 email: national@ncadd.org   http://www.ncadd.org HOPE LINE: 800/NCA-CALL (24-hour Affiliate referral)