Beer Tax

[deerfield]

Thought you guys would find this bit about a beer tax in Oregon of interest. I copied it from the Opinion section in today's edition of the Wall Street Journal. It's a nutty world!

From the Wall Street Journal:

Today is the dreaded April 15, but at least in Oregon it's even going to cost you more to drown in your tax sorrows. In their sober unwisdom, the state's pols plan to raise taxes by 1,900% on . . . beer. The tax would catapult to $52.21 from $2.60 a barrel. The money is intended to reduce Oregon's $3 billion budget deficit and, ostensibly, to pay for drug treatment.

If it passes, Oregon will overnight become the most taxing state for suds, one-third higher than the next highest beer tax state, Alaska. The state may do this even though Oregon is the second largest microbrewery producer in the U.S. The beer industry and its 96 breweries contribute 5,000 jobs and $2.25 billion to state GDP. Kurt Widmer of Widmer Brewing Co. says the tax would "devastate our company and small breweries throughout the state." Adds Joe Henchman, director of state projects at the Tax Foundation, "This microbrewery industry has gravitated to Oregon in part due to low beer taxes."

For Oregon to enact punitive taxes on its homegrown beer industry makes as much sense as Idaho slapping an excise tax on potatoes or for New York to tax stock trading. Even without the tax increase, taxes are the single most expensive ingredient in a glass of beer, according to the Oregon Brewers Guild.

But Democrats who run the legislature are desperate for the revenues to help pay for Oregon's 27.9% increase in the general fund budget last year. If they have their way, every time a worker steps up to the bar and orders a cold one, his tab will rise by an extra $1.25 to $1.50 a pint. Half of these taxes will be paid by Oregonians with an income below $45,000 a year. Voters might want to remember this the next time Democrats in Salem profess to be the party of Joe Six Pack.

[jmvotto]

job creation, the dems are about job creation

[Waynes345]

Don't let any of our Illinois pols get wind of that.

[jester]

Well i am kind of happy Wall Street picked it up. Oregon has a lot of little microbreweries and it would put all of them out of business. It is already $5 a pint for some of our microbrews and the $1.50 increase would bring the pint up to $6.30. That would be crazy and cause people to really rethink what beer they are buying. Also they are calling it a sin tax but they are not passing the tax on to hard A or Wine (at least the last time I checked.) Our lovely people in office are also not putting this to a public vote. The last two times they have put a beer tax to vote by the public it has been voted down. This would also put Oregon as the top tax on beer out of all the states. Right now we are the third from the lowest beer tax. For some reason Oregon is not happy with only a 14% unemployment rate and they keep finding ways to cause businesses to go under. Sorry for going on about this but this really gets my blood going and i really love my microbrews.

[Chad M]

Let's not forget that Oregon doesn't have a sales tax.

[zabooda]

We in Washington appreciate that as we don't have an income tax so we get the best of both worlds. Just don't try pumping your own gas in Oregon as I keep forgetting.

[spyder]

welcome to canada

[jester]

I would much rather have sales tax then income tax. The beer tax has nothing to do with a sales tax or income tax issue.

We are kind of touchy about people pumping their own gas. I guess Oregon people are too lazy or stupid to do it them self’s. But I will never let another person pump gas into my boat unless it is at a marina where the people know how to put gas into a boat.

[zabooda]

I always get yelled at for pumping my own gas and they say itis a state law and I could get in trouble for doing so. I've had spilt gas while pumping the boat as they do not want to stand there and manually hold the pump. Oregon is a great state with good outdoor stuff to do but they need to boost the interstate speed limit though.

[1LOKMOOMBA]

All the more reason to brew your own. We can make a stand.