The Daily Delegate

This bill aims to pass a law that provides a one-year property tax exemption for first-time homebuyers of primary residences valued at $500,000 or less, funded through increased taxes on alcohol, cigarettes, and other legal substances. This does not stand for vacation homes, rental property, or investment property. The proposed funds for this bill would come from increased taxes on the purchase of alcohol, marijuana, cigarettes, and smokeless tobacco products.

This simply is not a sustainable plan due to the source of the finances. The CDC states “Alcohol taxes affect the price of alcohol and can reduce alcohol consumption,”. If the government were to tax alcohol then alcohol consumption would go down. This would be the case for all other substances taxed as well. The less consumption then equates to the less revenue brought in to fund this bill. Therefore this bill is not fiscally responsible to continue to be funded by the proposed tax.