Alcohol Tax Equalization Act of 2002

H.R. 4820, the Alcohol Tax Equalization Act of 2002, proposed increasing the federal excise tax rates on beer and wine to match the tax levels applied to distilled spirits. The bill also sought to index these tax rates to inflation, meaning the cost of the tax would automatically adjust over time based on the cost of living.

For the average citizen, this legislation would have likely resulted in higher retail prices for beer and wine. The additional tax revenue generated by these increases would have been directed into a new "Substance Abuse Prevention Trust Fund" to finance alcohol abuse prevention and highway safety programs. While the bill was introduced in 2002, it did not advance past the committee stage and never became law.