Budget Chairman Edward Kasemeyer noted the historic nature of the committee's move, saying most Marylanders "probably wonder why it has taken so long."

Yes, I always wonder why taxes are not increased more often. Wish I had a part time job which provided a pension and the ability to take money away from workers.

Another gutless move by progay marriage and iilegal immigrant Dem Boss Kasemeyer. You want to extort more money? Raise the income tax and take the heat. But that would be brave. Pansy.

Great, another tax increase going straight to baltimore. as if they whernt getting enough money from us, and to add insult to injury its going to pay for somone elses health care increases as mine have more than doubled since obama cares inactment.

The House of Delegates will amend the tax down a bit. That way all the phoney politicians will 'crow' how they cut taxes - when in reality they raised them. Why can't the State of MD budget and spend as we do. We all have been forced to cut back our spending. By the way are the higher Fees the Democratic Legislature is enacting Fees or Taxes? Like the O'Malley ads stated "A fee is Tax". We need to vote all incumbents out of office.

Didn't Omalley raise sales taxes on everything including alcohol two years ago? How can the newspaper and the politicians tell such outright lies?

I love living close to Delaware. This laughable vote will make sure I continue to shop there. Let me get this straight we tax our wicked alcohol more at the pump in Maryland and then again six percent at the register? They are right I can t believe this did not happen sooner! Why have we allowed our businesses to survive this long? The good thing at least is that the poor closing beverage business owners at least won t be able to get drunk to ease their pain. More likely they will resort to crime and drugs, our state heading the right direction.

"a great public health victory" ???? Are you kidding? I swore I would quit smoking when cigarettes hit $1 a pack...here I am still smoking at 7 times that amount. I doubt if there is a single customer of mine who will stop drinking or drink less because they will be paying 3 cents more for their $3 beer. And to boot, it's likely that I will end up absorbing the 3 cents anyway - we advertise $3 beer but in reality, I charge $2.83 so that making change is easier. I'm not likely to start charging $2.86 and collect the extra 3 cents - I'll charge $2.80 and send the other 20 cents to the state. Just another 1% off my (already slim)bottom line. Thanks a lot.

@Stop Spending

Ur healthcare doubled since the new healthcare bill passed? WTF? Who do you have health insurance through?? Most of the healthcare bill has yet to take effect.

Alcohol, gas, plastic bags. Abbreviated list, but "if you chose to walk, I'll tax your feet." Vote these idiots out.

Are you serious? PG county has grown wealthier and therefore receives less in state aid so we need to raise an alcohol tax (easily avoided by anyone who borders... well anywhere in MD!) across the entire state to fill the budget gap in.... wealthier PG county!

Only in Annapolis.

a great public health victory that will save numerous lives."

They have to throw these kind of things in their to make the tax increases not look so bad.

What else are the gonna say?

Md Government- Hey everyone we are horrible with money and spend the crap out of it but instead of cutting our spending, we will just bring in more money by raising taxes!

Enjoy paying every extra cent Marylanders, you voted these people in to office so you must enjoy paying more and more taxes.

They wonder how anyone does business in this state. I own a bar in Canton..in 2006 my property tax was $6800..this year my propery tax is.....#23,000.. ontop of another $5000.00 year just to have an awning outside. Pretty soon, the only thing left will be chains at the harbor, or a Budweiser will cost you $6..

Look, I'm a Democrat, so I'm not automatically against all tax increases, but I'm definitely against *this* tax increase.

The rationale some of the supporters of this thing are using is beyond irritating. The guy quoted in the article says it's a great victory because it'll make people drink less. Who are you and why should you get to determine how much other adults drink? The people of Maryland (and folks who pass through from elsewhere and pick up some beer) aren't children and the state government isn't supposed to be a parental surrogate.

I'm not one to throw around the term "nanny state" very often. In fact, I usually object to the use of the term. I support universal health care and a lot of things along those lines. Offering services to folks who need them and otherwise couldn't afford them is a good thing in my book. But a "sin tax" is a "nanny state" thing in the very worst sense of the term. It's not providing something to people, it's just plain old trying to tell them what to do.

And who do taxes like this impact and restrict the most? The poor, of course, people who are already suffering and could probably use a beer or a glass of wine before they go to bed at night to try to relax and forget about some of their problems.

If Maryland needs to raise money, try a millionaire's tax or hiking the corporate tax rate. Lets not tax the little guy and try to control how how he acts.

Governor O'Malley, you're not my mommy. Stop acting like it.

Same goes for text messaging and cell phone bans, and speed cameras.

Enough is enough. These folks controlling the state government down there may be Democrats, but they aren't my kind of Democrats.

For once, I'm glad I now live in Pennsylvania where I don't have to put up with this stuff as much. Though, I should say, that Maryland's alcohol laws are on the whole far better, which is why I buy most of my beer down there. Pennsylvania is a bit "dark ages" on this stuff (the laws here on alcohol are crazy).

But at least the Pennsylvania state government hasn't been on a steady campaign to pass stupid laws trying to tell people what to do the last few years (Pennsylvania's stupid alcohol laws date from just after prohibition). What's been going on in Annapolis is the best argument for small government that I've ever heard -- and that's coming from a big government liberal. ;)

So the last time alcohol taxes were adjusted was 40 years ago? In 1971.

How many times in those 40 years did 'private industry' increase the price of the alcohol beverage, and yet we didn't hear a single word from the crybabies about that?

Hint - if you don't want to pay a small amount more for your alcohol, don't buy it.

Besides, it is a tax, not a fee, so no campaign promises were broken (and that campaign promise was made by the Governor, not members of the General Assembly).

And if you are going to cry a moon river about a few pennies increase on the cost of your alcohol, did you also scream and shout when boobie instituted his flush tax? (I'd wager you didn't.) Remember, that 'fee' hit EVERYONE in the state, and there was no way to get out of it except to permanently move out of state (or to use an illegal method of dumping your septic system waste).

Okay, so 80% or the money is going to the two subdivisions that vote Democratic with and 80% majority, must just be coincidence right? It will be worth it to me to trot up across the PA line to do my buying. As far as not having an increase in 40 years, what was the sales tax 40 years ago? Doesn't liquor have a sales tax tacked on it? Not to worry, I know the State will spend all this money wisely.

I wonder why all our taxes are not increasing? It is not like we pay enough now. I think the O'Malley regime should institute an Air Tax. Then they can finance all there pet projects and give aways.

What we need is a PolitiicanTax!

t will work like this: the more the governemnt spends and wastes, the higher politican's incomes will be taxed.

Lets see how much of our money they want to squander then!

Julie,

I see nothing re: the opposition's point of view to this tax increase. This report is completely unbalanced. I realize it's not a full investigative piece, but your duty is to always provide the public with a view from both sides of an issue.

For example, if PG County is becoming wealthier, shouldn't increased tax revenues from PG citizens offset the reduction in aid? Further, is there a better way to tackle the Baltimore city teachers' health care fund besides introducing a new tax?

Lastly, our politicians are thieves. Kasemeyer's quote is unendingly ignorant and greedy.

This is terrible. O'Malley lied to us again. No surprise. Like all politicians he said what he had to, to get elected.

Too bad the alcohol tax weren't also a whine tax.

Besides, it is a tax, not a fee, so no campaign promises were broken (and that campaign promise was made by the Governor, not members of the General Assembly).

Mike how soon you forget the 2010 election for Governor-
"If it comes out of my pocket Bob Ehrlich a fee is a tax."

You can't have it both ways bub.

Stop trying to rewrite history.

A fee is a tax.

Just ask MOM.

His campaign manager skewered Ehrlich for this in 2010.

Mike, spoken like a true Democrat. What you really don't seem to get here is the tax was raised in the form of the sales tax a few years ago and now its being raised again. Maryland has recently raised FEES for dealer permits. That's a FEE! Foreclosure FEES have just been increased. So if you're unlucky enough to get your house foreclosed on, you'll have to pay more to do it.State parks use FEES have gone up also. They are proposing to increase vehicle registration FEES. This is addition to all the new taxes they are proposing too. I know government needs money to run, but when is enough enough? You buy gas and pay ~50 cents in taxes then are taxed again when you pay for it. Maybe this dosen't bother you but I'm guessing you could give 75% of your hard earned money (if you even have a job and are not on on some form of assistance) to taxes and not blink. Let me ask you this, when are we, as citizens and taxpayers, going to demand more responsibility in our government and what they spend OUR money on?

An increase in the Alcohol is long overdue in Maryland as advocates for the Lorraine Sheehan Community Services Act have been saying for the last 2 years. It is great the legislature will be addressing the DD waiting list, but why have those living with substance use disorders and mental illness been left by the wayside? The House has proposed cutting residential services for children with mental health needs by 6.7million (half federal funds) and the Senate 4.2 million. Mental health community providers are also being cut by 2.5 % in the Governor's budget. Families and advocates for those with mental health issues fought hard for to support revenue sources for these needed programs. Instead, the tax will be adopted and those with mental and addictions will be left behind once again. We must end this stigma. The public pays for it one way or another.

It looks like the Republicans pointed out a fallacy in this post and the Democrat logic (http://www.mdsenategop.com/component/content/article/1-home/317-alcohol-tax-to-fund-baltimore-city-a-prince-georges-county.html).

You can't claim this is the first tax in four decades because they raised the sales tax in 2007 which also applied to alcohol. They are NOT raising the wholesaler excise tax--the tax that hasn't been raised in four decades.

Will the Sun credit the Republicans for catching this error?

Lynn, why is yet ANOTHER tax overdue? So what they haven't raised alcohol taxes in xx years. They've raised pretty much every other tax and fee instead! I guess it was just a matter of time. And like any other tax, its going to where the government decides it goes to not where you have lobbied for it to go. It's going to the general fund where it can be used for any other pork that our great state deems necessary at the time. Then when the run out of money that this tax has provided, they'll just tax something else to get you the money that you need. It never ends.

do what you want to maryland..i still have the option to buy from other states

A tax is a fee is a tax is a fee....
And yes, I was pissed with Ehrlich's flush tax too. Plague on both your houses and anyone who thinks any politician is honest enough to have control of our money.