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Editorial: Good move on 'Alcopops'
Should other liquor taxes be higher, too?
Published 12:00 am PDT Friday, August 17, 2007
Story appeared in EDITORIALS section, Page B6
The Board of Equalization voted narrowly this week to change the classification of "alcopops" -- those sugary alcoholic beverages such as Mike's Hard Lemonade and Smirnoff Ice that have proven popular among teenagers.
Under the new rules, flavored malt beverages, as these drinks are officially known, are no longer classified as beer but as distilled spirits and will be taxed at the higher distilled spirits rate. Their tax will increase from 20 cents per gallon, the rate for beer and wine, to $3.30 per gallon, the liquor rate.
The state stands to collect $40 million more in liquor taxes, but money was not the primary reason Elk Grove teenager Jimmy Jordan and others pushed for reclassification. A tax hike would raise the price of such beverages from the current $4 a six-pack to $6, enough of an increase that it might dissuade young Jordan's price-sensitive peers from drinking illegally. That's a good outcome.
Industry lobbyists, who deny that teenagers are drawn disproportionately to flavored malt beverages, should do what Board of Equalization member Judy Chu did. Visit YouTube or MySpace. "Alcopops" are clearly the drink of choice among young teens.
Liquor manufacturers who oppose the reclassification on fairness grounds are right about one thing: The tax is somewhat inequitable. Flavored malt beverages have no more alcohol content than beer (4 percent to 6 percent) and even less than wine, which can have alcohol content as high as 14 percent. But with reclassification, "alcopops" will be taxed 16 times the rate of wine or beer. There's a good argument that alcoholic beverages are undertaxed in general, particularly given the disproportionate role alcohol plays in violent crime, domestic violence, child abuse and drunken driving. Liquor taxes have not been raised in California since 1991.
The Board of Equalization has done what it can and must do to take "alcopops" out of the hands of teenage drinkers. Now the Legislature should consider whether liquor taxes are too low across the board.
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