“Is alcohol undertaxed?” was the question posed in a Jan. 14 editorial. Quite frankly, there is nothing undertaxed in Maine. We pay property taxes, income taxes, sales and excise taxes to name a few; fuel tax, tobacco tax, user tax. Pro-tax advocates are calling some of the new taxes they wish to apply “sin taxes.” The truth of the matter is any more taxes would be the sin.

In his book “Paying the Tab,” Duke University Professor Philip Cook calls for raising beer and wine taxes to the level of liquor taxes and then indexing them all to inflation to pay for the “social costs of alcohol.” This line of thought is also being explored by the California-based Marin Institute, a self proclaimed “alcohol watchdog group.” If Maine lawmakers are actually thinking about adopting this new tax as a method of tax reform, there are some things to consider.

Beer and wine are already heavily taxed. Maine currently has the highest tax on beer in New England and the 12th highest tax in the United States. Excise taxes are already the most expensive ingredient in beer. In fact, over 40 percent of the cost of each beer is due to taxes in one form or another.

From the standpoint that higher taxes reduce usage and societal danger let us also consider other state specific examples. In Wyoming – the state with the lowest beer tax in the country – they have a significantly lower drunk driving rate than Alaska, which has the highest beer tax rate in the U.S. In fact, Alaska has the highest drunk driver fatality rate in America.

Clearly, Cook’s views are incorrect. He is mistaken to believe that people can be taxed into behaving responsibly. If Maine is serious about reducing underage drinking and drunk driving, we need to focus on education, reinforcement and punishment. We should directly target the problem rather than unfairly raising taxes on all beer and wine drinkers.

Perhaps if Cook actually lived or worked in Maine, he would understand the basic truth that Maine citizens pay more in taxes than people in any other state. Cook is an academic whose work has focused on criminal justice issues. His agenda is clearly on the perceived negatives of alcohol, but he just as clearly ignores the positives such as socialization and economic benefits. The one issue on which pretty much everyone in Maine agrees is that our tax burden is out of control.

No matter where we turn, Mainers pay. There are taxes to recycle and repair the roads, taxes to put snacks in our children’s lunchboxes, not to mention the second hit we take on our state income tax every April 15th.

Every time a new or increased tax is proposed in Maine, someone somewhere thinks it’s a good idea. Often the people behind these new taxes use academic “experts” from outside Maine to push their case. It is time for all of us to simply put an end to the clear public policy failure of constantly adding to the crushing tax burden in this state.

We have to ask ourselves, and the people representing us in Augusta, just how did Maine become the highest taxed state in America? The answer is simple, one nickel at a time.

Cheryl Timberlake is the executive vice president of the Maine Beer & Wine Wholesalers Association.