New Mexico: Bill would make NM alcohol taxes highest in US

Source: Sun-News

Feb. 16, 2017

Rep. Joanne J. Ferrary, D-Las Cruces, has introduced legislation that would make alcohol taxes in New Mexico the highest in the nation.

Ferrary, a first-term lawmaker who had worked professionally for several years on combating drunken driving in New Mexico, said that her bill would have a positive impact on public safety and state revenue.

“It is a win-win for our state budget, and the health and safety of our residents,” she said in a prepared statement. “According to the CDC, New Mexico leads the nation in deaths by excessive drinking. Not only would this bill reduce alcohol consumption and save lives, but it will increase revenue by a projected $160 million, which would help solve the state’s budget shortfall.”

House Bill 398 would increase taxes from $1.60 a liter to $7.24 a liter on hard liquor, 41 cents a gallon to $3.08 a gallon on beer, 45 cents a liter to $2.14 a liter on wine, $1.50 a liter to $3.60 a liter on fortified wine and 41 cents a gallon to $3.08 a gallon for cider.

Looking at it on a per-drink basis, the tax for a bottle of beer would climb from 3.8 cents to 28.9 cents, a glass of wine from 6.7 cents to 31.6 cents and liquor from 22.2 cents to 53.4 cents.

It is expected that the bill would generate $150 million to $160 million a year in new revenue.

According to a legislative analysis of the bill, beer and wine excise tax rates would be “significantly higher than other tax rates in the country.” The tax on beer would be more than twice as high as the highest in the nation, Tennessee, which $3.08 per gallon. Our wine tax would be almost three times as high as Kentucky, which now tops the nation at 87 cents per liter.

The analysis predicts that the bill would reduce alcohol consumption, resulting in reduced costs for health care and public safety.

Local lawmakers Angelica Rubio and Rudy Martinez, both Democrats, are among those who are supporting to bill. Identical legislation has been introduced by Cisco McSorley, D-Albuquerque, in the Senate.