According to the CDC, New Mexico leads the Country in alcohol related deaths every year, with just about 16% of all deaths being caused by excessive drinking- But there is a new movement to help change that.
Excise taxes, sometimes called sin taxes are meant to help curb behaviors that can be destructive like smoking and drinking.
Peter DeBenedittis, director of alcohol taxes save lives and money, says increasing the excise tax on alcohol in New Mexico, could not only help curb excessive drinking, but will save the state money.
“Every drink that a person drinks,” DeBenedittis said. “Taxpayers pay a dollar additional in hidden tax, for police, and ambulance, and court costs. These are things that taxpayers have to pay, and when legislators figure out why are we taxing people, we should have the excessive drinkers pay for it. They are going to realize alcohol taxes save lives and save money.”
DeBenedittis says they are looking to increase the excise tax 25 cents for every standard alcoholic drink. He says he knows that won’t stop everyone from drinking, but it will help.
“The reality is that a 25 cent per drink tax increase would lead to about a 10% overall reduction,” DeBenedittis said. “We’re not going to cure everything, we’re not going to stop drinking, we’re not like prohibitionists. We just want the people causing the problems to pay for it, and so we’re going to make it a little bit harder. Not everyone is going to stop, but enough will. And the ones that will stop the most are youth because youth are the most price sensitive.”
The group’s proposed increase would cost the average casual drinker, who has an occasional glass of wine with dinner about $10 a year, and DeBenedittis says 49% of New Mexican’s won’t even be effected.
“For the excessive drinkers,” DeBenedittis said. ‘The 19% of the population that causes all the problems we have to pay for, they will pay an average of about $50 a year more. So, we’re going to shift the harm to the people causing it.”
DeBenedittis says the new funding will be able to pay for necessary alcohol prevention programs across the state, as well as basic state needs.
“What can we do,” DeBenedittis said. “If we raise alcohol taxes 25 cents a drink, we’re talking $154 million a year in additional state revenue. That’s going to be treatment, prevention, less cost to the county, and maybe even the Medicaid expansion match.”
The state is responsible for paying more for Medicaid under the new healthcare law, and DeBenedittis says and increase in the excise tax would be able to pay that bill.
“The state has to come up with a 5% match in 2017,” DeBenedittis said. “And a 10% match in 2020. That’s going to be about $85 million in 2017 and about $117 million in 2020. We could pay for that out of the excessive drinking tax, and have more healthcare.”
DeBenedittis says if they were to get a 25 cent per drink tax increase approved by the legislature it would be the largest increase in alcohol tax in the United States, For more information on alcohol excise taxes visit alcoholtaxessavelives.org.
