CONCORD, NH - A New Hampshire lawmaker has proposed a bill that would raise the beer tax by ten cents per gallon, a 33% increase, CBS Local reports.

Sponsored by Rep. Charles Weed, the bill is currently in committee. It would increase the excise tax on any beer that??s sold within New Hampshire to 40 cents per gallon.

If approved, the bill would make New Hampshire??s beer tax the highest in New England, followed by Maine??s 35 cents per gallon. Massachusetts charges 11 cents per gallon.

Proponents of the bill maintain the increase would generate an estimated $4.3 million in state revenue each year.

In-state craft brewers strongly oppose the proposal, saying it could cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales.

New Hampshire recorded the nation??s highest per capita alcohol sales rate in four of the last five years.