Alcohol Taxes Gone Flat: Marin Institute Releases Alcohol Tax and Fee Revenue Calculator 2.0

New Watchdog Tool Counts County Cash

SAN FRANCISCO, April 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With state governments wrestling unrestrained Big Alcohol to update antiquated alcohol taxes, Marin Institute, the alcohol industry watchdog, has released an updated version of it's popular online Alcohol Tax / Fee Revenue Calculator now with new individual county calculating capabilities.

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"Governments, organizations and policy makers nationwide are using Marin Institute's Alcohol Tax / Fee Calculator tool to chart ridiculous streams of revenue that state governments have been unable to tap into thus far," stated Sarah Mart, research and policy manager at Marin Institute.  "Now individuals, coalitions and local administrators that operate at the county level will be able to use the same tool effectively within their communities."

Marin Institute's Alcohol Tax / Fee Revenue Calculator can estimate how much new revenue would be generated by an alcohol tax or fee at the county and city level in many places in California and New Mexico. In California, all counties are available, as well as the twenty-five most populous cities. In New Mexico, the five most populous cities and their counties are available.

"In the past Big Alcohol lobbying efforts have been extremely effective at preventing sound public policy and balanced state budgets," said Michael Scippa, advocacy director at Marin Institute. "With states slashing critical programs that address alcohol-related harm, counties are rightly considering local alcohol-harm mitigation fees.  Our new tool can help them calculate what those fees should be."

Updating or levying fees on alcoholic beverages can generate substantial additional revenue for states, localities and the nation. Marin Institute's Alcohol Revenue Tax / Fee Calculator computes expected new revenue with ultimate customizability by allowing the user to choose beverage categories, beverage size, and the amount tax or fee increase.

The alcohol industry watchdog also recently released a new mapping tool - Neglected and Outdated State Beer Taxes - which compares for all states the number of years since the last alcohol tax increase and the real value decline due to not keeping up with inflation.

"We hope county officials as well as state legislatures and governors looking for alternatives to budget and service cuts will use these dynamic new tools," Mart added. "Then enact long-overdue increases to alcohol taxes and fees at all levels of government and index them to inflation to fund programs of support and prevent future losses."

To use the new Calculator and Map tools visit: MarinInstitute.org

    
    CONTACT:  Michael Scippa  415-548-0492
    Jorge Castillo  213-840-3336  

SOURCE Marin Institute Alcohol Industry Watchdog