Don't Buy Alcohol in Maryland

Today Governor Martin O'Malley signs into law the first tax increase on alcohol in more than 10 years. While we opposed the increase we appreciate that the elected officials in Maryland were clever enough to raise the taxes from 6 to 9 percent. According to reports, the increase will generate approximately $85 million in revenue for the state.

The self-proclaimed watchdog of the alcohol industry, the Marin Institute, calls this a defeat for big alcohol and a victory for public health policy. According to PR Newswire, Vincent DeMarco of the Maryland Citizens' Health Initiative said "The new alcohol sales tax increase will save lives by reducing underage drinking and over-consumption while also providing much-needed revenue to fund critical health care and community services in our state."

Sure, and Maryland Lottery funds really do benefit the Maryland public schools.

Don't worry Marylanders we don't just report problems we also present solutions. Purchase your alcohol in another state (or constitutionally-chartered special district). Our geospacial mapping staff tells us the majority of Maryland residents live within shouting distance of Virginia, West Virginia, Washington, DC Pennsylvania, and even Delaware. Sorry Baltimore, you're probably screwed - it's a bit of a hike for you in every direction but you can come to DC grab some beer and catch a Nationals game (aside from the uniform colors and stadium design you will never know it's not the O's).

A Political Update and A New Beginning

Before we get started - it's official. DC Brau is the first commercial brewery operating in our nation's capital in more than 50 years! Find them on FB and on the Interwebs for great pics and updates.

On to the news of the day.  This is a bit of a good news-bad news piece on recent DMV brew-related legislation.

Maryland Poised to Increase Alcohol Tax: There's something about being below the Mason-Dixon line that makes state politicals act funky. OK, it's all politicals in all locales. Anyway, the folks at Heavy Seas have led the charge against a possible increase in alcohol taxes. It looks like this valiant effort is going to fail.

According to the Washington Times, which some people actually read, the tax is ready to pass. Don't worry Marylanders, this is probably the only tax increase you'll face this year. So, our recommendation is that you purchase your alcohol in DC, Virginia, Delaware, or West Virginia, or Pennsylvania. By our guesstimate, this really only screws residents in Baltimore. Everybody else seems to live/work close enough to a state or DC to avoid the tax.


DC Hearing on Allowing Samples Announce: We previously mentioned that inside the District commercial breweries are prohibited from offering samples on site. For half a century this was not a concern to anybody primarily because there hasn't been a commercial brewery actually brewing in the District. Well, now there is (see above) and they need to offer samples on site just like breweries in just about every other locale in the country.

The DC Council has legislation on the table to right this wrong. We'll say it's because of a need for due diligence but Councilmember Graham requested a hearing and his request was granted. The Human Services Committee Hearing will be held on March 31, 2011, at the Wilson Building - Room 412. Again, the bill is here. You can contact Benton Heimsath if you would like to testify. Don't hesitate to contact your Councilmember asking for their support of this bill.

Read My Lips...

The fine people at Heavy Seas recently sent around an E-mail on new legislation being offered in the Maryland legislature to increase taxes on alcohol beverages. Beer In Baltimore touched on this issue as well. HB 121, the Lorraine Sheehan Health and Community Services Act of 2011, increases the state tax rates for alcoholic beverages sold in Maryland from $1.50 to $10.03 per gallon for distilled spirits, from 40 cents to $2.96 per gallon for wine, and from 9 cents to $1.16 per gallon for beer. The House bill has more than 50 sponsors and the Senate counterpart (SB 168) has almost 20 sponsors. The Senate Budget and Taxation Committee held a hearing on the bill today and the House Ways and Means Committee on March 3, 2011.

State budgets are hurting across the country (we're looking at you Wisconsin) and commodity prices are going through the roof, which means prices for food - and beer - are going up too. We understand beer is a bit of a luxury item for some and it's not quite the same as putting food on the table. Maybe more people could afford a little luxury, or even a little tax increase, if wages had increased at all since the 1980s. With the current state of the economy employers have good excuse not to increase wages. What this means is no pay raise this year but the grocery bill is going up and that little six pack of heaven is about to get taxed like a cigarette.

Anyway, we're not saying you should oppose this bill but if you live in Maryland you should oppose HB 121/SB 168. You can voice your opposition at http://www.savemymdjob.com/.

If you live in Wisconsin, we're not saying you should support the unions but you should support the right to collective bargaining.

-Image courtesy of Heavy Seas.