An Act To Reform the Taxation of Malt Liquor and Wine
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 0610
Committee: Legal and Veterans Affairs
Sponsors: MILLS
Amends: Title 26, Section 5002, 28-A MRSA §1652, 28-A MRSA §1703

Legislative Document 
No. 610 
S.P.202 
February 8, 2007 
An Act To Reform the Taxation of Malt Liquor and Wine 
Reference to the Committee on Legal and Veterans Affairs suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Senator MILLS of Somerset. 
Printed On recycled paper 
JOY J. O'BRIEN 
Secretary of the Senate 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 28-A MRSA §1652, sub-§l, as repealed and replaced by PL 1987, c. 342, 
§ 116, is amended to read: 
1. Excise tax on malt liquor and wine. An excise tax is imposed on the privilege of 
manufacturing and selling malt liquor, wine and low-akohol spirits products in the State. 
The Maine manufacturer or importing wholesale licensee shall pay an excise tax of ~ 
per gallon on all malt liquor sold in the State one cent for each tenth of an ounce of 100% 
alcohol sold in the State in malt beverages, hard cider, wine, sparkling wine, fortified 
wine and low-alcohol spirits products. 
Sec. 2. 28-A MRSA §1652, sub-§2, as amended by PL 1997, c. 767, §4, IS 
II 
repealed. 
Sec. 3. 28-A MRSA §1703, sub-§3, as amended by PL 1997, c. 767, §6, IS 
further amended to read: 
3. Amount of premium. The premium imposed by subsections I and 2 is: 
A. Ten cents per gallon on all malt beverages and hard cider sold in the State: Two 
tenths of one cent for each tenth of an ounce of 100% alcohol sold in the State in malt 
beverages, hard cider, wine, sparkling wine, fortified wine and low-alcohol spirits 
products; and 
B. Thirty cents per gallon on all 'Nine, other than sparkling wine, sold in the State: 
C. T'Nenty four cents per gallon on all sparkling 'Nine and all fortified 'Nine sold in 
the State and all low alcohol spirits products sold by a person licensed to sell wine for 
consumption on or off the premises; and 
D. 
One dollar and twenty-five cents per proof gallon as the term proof gallon is 
defined in the United States Code, Title 26, Section 5002, on all spirits sold in the 
State. 
SUMMARY 
Current taxes on beer and wine are imposed in 2 components, an excise tax and a 
premium tax. The excise tax goes to the General Fund; the premium tax, added in 1981, 
supports a fund for the prevention of alcoholism. 
This bill taxes beer, wine and sparkling wine at the uniform rate of 12¢ per ounce of 
pure alcohol that each contains. The tax is broken down as 10¢ for the excise tax to the 
General Fund and 2¢ as the premium tax for the prevention fund. 
This will double 
revenue to the General Fund and increase slightly the prevention fund. 
Taxes on distilled spirits are unaffected by the bill. Taxes on the alcohol in distilled 
spirits are higher than those on the alcohol in beer and wine and would remain so despite 
the increases for beer and wine proposed in this bill. 
Page I - 123LR139t(OI)-1 
I 
The bill nearly doubles the tax on beer, triples the tax on wine and increases the tax 
on sparkling wine by about 50%. 
For beer that is 4% alcohol, there are 5.12 ounces of alcohol in a gallon. At the 
current tax rate of 35¢ per fluid gallon, the tax on alcohol alone is about 6.8¢ per ounce. 
The tax on a 12-ounce can of beer containing 4% alcohol would rise from 3.4¢ to 6¢. 
For wine that is 12% alcohol, there are about 15.36 ounces of alcohol in a gallon. At 
the current tax rate of 60¢ per gallon, the tax on alcohol alone is about 3. 9¢ per ounce. 
For wine that is 12% alcohol there are 3.043 ounces of alcohol in a 750 ml bottle. The 
tax on a 750 ml bottle of wine containing 12% alcohol would rise from 11.7¢ to 36.5¢.