Photo by dracisk

Enjoy those drinks tonight, D.C., because you may soon be paying more for them.

As the D.C. Council grapples with ways to close a $172 million budget gap for 2013, Councilmember Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) has proposed slapping what would amount to a six-cent tax on all drinks as a means to raise $20 million.

If we increased the excise tax on alcohol – adding six cents per drink – we could raise more than 20 million dollars.

— Jim Graham (@JimGrahamWard1) April 30, 2012

The tax would replace an initial proposal by Mayor Vince Gray to allow bars to stay open for an extra hour and a substitute provision that would have permitted liquor stores to stay open on Sunday. (Graham opposes both.) To make that a little more clear: you won’t be able to stay out later or buy liquor on Sundays, but you could pay more for every drink at a bar.

In a statement, Graham justified the move by saying that the excise tax on alcohol in D.C. hasn’t been raised since 1990. Currently alcohol excise taxes in D.C.—paid by wholesalers, with the cost passed on to you—stand at $2.79 per barrel of beer, $0.45 per gallon of champagne and sparkling wine, $1.50 per gallon of distilled spirits, and between $0.30 and $0.40 per gallon of wine, depending on alcohol content.

With the increase and consequent revenue, said Graham, fewer social services would have to be cut.

That’s not to say this is final, though. According to the Post’s Tim Craig, a bar owner testifying today had a compromise for Graham: extend bar hours and impose the increased tax. And whatever happens, it’ll be Councilmember Jack Evans’ (D-Ward 2) Committee on Finance and Revenue that approves any increases.

Alcohol is a reliable way to increase revenue—last year D.C. increased the sales tax on alcohol from 9 to 10 percent and allowed liquor retailers to expand their hours of operation.