The tax hike is the first one specifically targeting alcoholic beverages in Maryland since 1972. Many advocates saw it as an uphill struggle, given the well-known power of the alcohol industry in Annapolis. “ David truly beat Goliath on this one,” Aaron Kaufman, a cerebral palsy patient who lobbied for the tax, told The (Baltimore) Sun .
Minority Republicans — who opposed the legislation but were powerless to stop it — criticized the tax increase as just the latest for O’Malley, a Democrat who approved $1 billion in tax increases to deal with a structural deficit in 2007.
“Today, Governor O’Malley and Democratic leaders gleefully broke their word to not raise taxes on Marylanders if re-elected, “ Alex X. Mooney, the chair of the Maryland Republican Party, said.
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