On Wednesday, Boston City Council President Bill Linehan will offer a home rule petition for a 6.25% sales tax on alcohol being sold in Boston at package and liquor stores for off-premise consumption. The revenue of the tax will then be used to fund prevention and treatment programs for substance abuse in the city.

Currently, there is no sale tax on any beverages, including alcohol, that are sold in unopened original containers for consumption elsewhere. There is, however, a sale tax on any food or beverage sold in a restaurant according to the official website for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

If passed, this petition may cause an uproar from consumers, especially among younger drinkers aged 18 to 24 who happen to rank the highest in binge and heavy drinking in the state. MassGov states that this age group has consistently ranked as the highest percentage of adults who binge and heavy drink, which makes sense considering the amount of universities and colleges located in Boston.

In 2010, out of 19,793 surveyed in a study, 20.6% said they have binged on alcohol, which is five or more drinks for men and four or more drinks for women. As well, 7.9% of participants in the survey said they took part in heavy drinking, which is 60 plus drinks for men and 30 plus drinks for women in the past month.

Overall, Massachusetts estimates have remained slightly higher than the national average since 2001 when it comes to binge and heavy drinking, as seen below in the two charts from 2000 to 2009 data:

Linehan might be onto something with Boston’s drinking problem. But, if this petition is passed a lot of young people who shell out a lot of money towards alcohol will be upset that they have to pay even more.

BostInno reached out directly to Linehan’s office but have yet to receive a response.

(Photo courtesy of lifehacker)