In Oregon and elsewhere, beer tax hikes a-brewing
Posted
Feb 19 2009, 06:37 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
If you've been drowning your economic sorrows in a pint of ale, that could get more expensive. Beer is being eyed for additional taxation in a number of states facing budget shortfalls.
In Oregon, legislators have proposed raising the beer tax from the current $2.60 per barrel to $49.61, a jump of about 1,800%. Lawmakers say that amounts to 15 cents more per 12-ounce glass. The beer industry says the price jump would more likely be $1.50. The tax hasn't been raised in more than 30 years.
Don't panic yet, you folks in microbrew paradise. An editorial in The Oregonian says, "Excuse our cynicism, but we've sat through this particular barroom discussion enough times to know that it is leading nowhere" (and also notes that state funding for alcohol and drug treatment has been severely cut).
Here's what's going on in some other states:
- A proposal to more than triple the per-gallon tax on beer from 15 to 52 cents has passed its first test in an Idaho legislative committee. A wine tax increase did too, The Associated Press reports. (One barrel holds 31 gallons.)
- In New York, Gov. David Patterson has proposed to raise the state tax from 11 cents to 24 cents per gallon of beer, prompting speculation that Anheuser-Busch would close its Lysander brewery as a result, The Post-Standard of Syracuse said.
- A total of 24 states, including Massachusetts and Virginia, are considering higher alcohol taxes.
All the news for beer drinkers isn't bad. (If you support a tax increase, you'll find plenty of ammunition at BeerSoaksAmerica.org.)
- In Wisconsin, Gov. Jim Doyle is proposing a 75-cent tax increase on cigarettes, on the heels of a $1 hike last year. But remember that Wisconsin is a beer-and-brat state. The beer tax hasn't gone up there in 40 years, The Post-Crescent reports, and that's not likely to change soon.
- Missouri beer drinkers also seem safe. Owen Morris writes in The Pitch that the Show-Me State's beer tax is low and likely to stay that way. Missouri is also the home of Anheuser-Busch. (Wyoming has the lowest beer tax, according to this Tax Foundation map.)
- The beer industry is lobbying for a reduction in the federal beer tax, calling it a sort of economic stimulus.
- In Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Texas, Alabama and Minnesota, lawmakers may drop blue laws that ban the sale of alcohol on Sunday. It's believed that will increase state revenue.
Here are two strange items from The Associated Press: A Nebraska legislator says tourism could increase there if people could legally drink beer in state parks. Also, Utah is contemplating changing its unique liquor laws by dropping the club system in bars.
Charlie Papazian, who truly is the king of beer -- he wrote "The Complete Joy of Home Brewing," among other accomplishments -- said at Examiner.com that a higher tax would raise the cost of beer by much higher than the tax's face value by the time you raise that glass or can to your lips.
He added, "Will there be other proposals to raise taxes on beer in your state? Unfortunately, I fear yes."
Want to see where your state ranks in beer consumption? Check out this Beer Institute .pdf file.
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