Higher taxes on alcohol!

The prices for alcoholic beverages relative to the general price level in Germany have become about 30 percent cheaper over the past 40 years. In a European comparison Germany has a particularly low tax rate on alcohol. Michael Adams and Tobias Effertz, University of Hamburg, calculate the economic costs of alcohol-conditioned illnesses and deaths and propose a marked increase in the taxes on alcoholic beverages. Higher taxes would lead to a clear decline in alcohol consumption particularly among children and adolescents. At the same time, the very low tax receipts on alcohol would clearly increase and permit lowering other taxes. This would lead to an economically better tax structure.