Outrage brewing over proposed 1,900% beer tax hike

Outrage brewing over proposed 1,900% beer tax hike

www.kgw.com

By ERIC ADAMS, kgw.com Staff

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Five Oregon state lawmakers want to impose a hefty tax on beer and have introduced a bill that brewers say would cripple them.

Four Portland legislators joined a Springfield senator to introduce Oregon House Bill 2461, which would impose a $49.61 tax on each barrel of beer produced by Oregon brewers.

The tax would raise revenue for the state at a time when budgets are running in the red. Specifically, the bill says it would fund prevention, treatment and recovery programs for those addicted to alcohol and other substances.

The bill's language defends the tax by arguing alcoholism and “untreated substance abuse” costs the state $4.15 billion in lost earnings as well as more than $8 million for health care and nearly $1 billion in law enforcement-related expenditures.

(visit the link for the full news article)



Related AboveTopSecret.com Discussion Threads:
Submit General News

Did I get your attention fellow beer lovers?!?!?!?!

"A pint of beer would go from $4.50 to $6.”

I guess that I'm so used to beer prices always going up every year at the ballpark that this doesn't phase me much.

I pay 5 to 6 dollars a pint in the bars and club on the East Side of Milwaukee, when I have a chance to get down there, that is.

Does anyone else think that this is really a non story that is being played for us in prime time??

Here's a quote from the article...The bill's language defends the tax by arguing alcoholism and “untreated substance abuse”

I find this most interesting..untreated substance abuse. Isn't that just another way of saying that we have a huge meth problem like the rest of the mid west??

Maybe that's what this is really about.

Just a thought.

www.kgw.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Don't worry Wolf, living in Wisconsin we won't ever let this happen to us

Can't think of a good beer out of Oregon anyways....

reply to post by Zachman225


I'm sure if they wanted to, we'd get hit here in Wisconsin too. Though I'm set for awhile anyways, I have 12 cases in the basement, and another in the fridge. I have family out in OR, they'll fight it.

I call for a Beer strike. Everyone brew their own for a couple of months. When their "Beer Tax" revenue drops to zero, they'll think it was just fine right were it was before this ridiculous robbery they propose.

Don't be fooled it's all about states seeking desperately needed revenues in a time of huge budget shortfalls which are growing with each job lost and business that closes. No matter how they sell it, these sin taxes are a sign of desperate government.

more here..

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Why just beer. Why not all alcohol. Wine wiskey port everything. Let see if the people who will pass that bill will pay that much for it. Then again, they will get it illegally and they will drink to their hearts content.

Originally posted by Zachman225
Don't worry Wolf, living in Wisconsin we won't ever let this happen to us

Can't think of a good beer out of Oregon anyways....

Ahem? There are tons of great beers made in Oregon there just not widely exported into other states. One of my favorite beers is Black Butte, made in Oregon. It's a dark beer which has a very nice dark taste with a bit of chocolate, my favorite dark beer.

www.deschutesbrewery.com...

Towering high above Central Oregon, jetting into clear blue skies, Black Butte can be seen for miles. From its base flows the legendary Metolius River--with its source hidden deep beneath ancient lava flows.

Black Butte Porter, crafted from chocolate and crystal malts, is Deschutes Brewery’s flagship brand. With a rich and distinctive flavor, this porter has enjoyed a loyal and passionate following since its first pint in 1988.

One of Deschutes’s original triumvirate of craft beers and still the best reason on record to visit Bend, Oregon. If you can’t taste one over a hot baked pretzel at their mid-Oregon brewpub, the company obligingly ships it southward to those of us thirsting for maltbased honesty and integrity. Completely free of that disappointing wet-newspaper-in-the-mouth taste of lesser porters, it’s a vibrant, elastic brew that goes the distance with power, style and Lance Armstrong-like pacing.

[edit on 16-2-2009 by oconnection]

reply to post by oconnection


don`t worry - the only good thing ever to come out of Wisconsin is the road leading away from the God forsaken place.....

HOT DAMN! Bootlegging is coming back to America! If we plan this right we can all make our fortunes, just like the Kennedy's did.

TAX REVOLT!

That is what we need in this country. Regardless of political leanings this is robbery. And this certainly isn't about beer. I don't drink anymore. This is a major blow to business if it passes. Bars, pubs, restaurants, and brewers will all suffer, and this will trigger more layoffs as the savings are passed on to the consumer in the form of much higher prices and being taxed ten thousand times every time they take a step out the door.

reply to post by Harlequin


LOL, never been to the place so I guess I'll have to take your word for it. But seriously if you like dark beers you'll like Black Butte, that is if you can find a case of it. =)

[edit on 16-2-2009 by oconnection]

reply to post by mrwupy

HOT DAMN! Bootlegging is coming back to America! If we plan this right we can all make our fortunes, just like the Kennedy's did.

Hmmm I've been making my own beer for about a year now, I guess I need to scale up my operation!

[edit on 16-2-2009 by oconnection]

Today, we are all bootleggers!

Ah, Wisconsin...cheese...pretzels with my beer...more cheese...beer cheddar cheese soup...pretzels...cheesy pretzels...cheesy puffs...more beer...I love you, Wisconsin!

Just what we need, more taxes. Good idea guys, raise taxes during the worst economic crisis in the history of this country,.... morons,.. I'm glad I'm a homebrewer.
And for that guy that said he couldnt think of a good Oregon beer, I have five words for you.
Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale. Cant really think of any good beers from Wisconsin actually...

Originally posted by spookjr
Just what we need, more taxes. Good idea guys, raise taxes during the worst economic crisis in the history of this country,.... morons,.. I'm glad I'm a homebrewer.
And for that guy that said he couldnt think of a good Oregon beer, I have five words for you.
Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale. Cant really think of any good beers from Wisconsin actually...

There's a man after my own heart! It's not there fault they haven't tasted a real beer yet I guess.

Originally posted by Zachman225
Can't think of a good beer out of Oregon anyways....

Oregon is the microbrewery capital of the country. Per capita, far more than any other state.

Well I don't blame the states for Imposing a tax just like cigarettes but 1900%?!?. Lets impose a tax on each lobbyist that goes too Washington to push this crap of bills they call stimulus.

I make my own wine with my own grapes with no poisons. some bottles are over 10 years old but I never touched the stuff other then testing.

Who cares, only sissy's drink beer anyway.

Man it up.....Tequila!!.........or cough syrup...... yeeehawwww

and we don't need no stinkin salt and lime either

There's no doubt that Oregon's beer tax is currently one of the lowest in the country.

Beer tax (per gallon): $0.08
Beer tax national average: $0.26
Date last changed: 1977
State rank for beer tax: 4

Alcohol tax collection

Possibly because of that, Oregon has become micro-brew heaven. In Portland, at least, we have an abundance of brewpubs where we drink excellent bears brewed in the next room. It's an exciting business and we suds lovers have come to expect a variety of seasonals from them all. Many of the brews don't get far from home. These small businesses don't brew that much, and I believe not all of them bottle their beers. They're available on tap. They certainly don't have huge marketing budgets or the great price point to compete on the national scene. Like any product of a small business, these products aren't cheap. For the price of a pint to go from $4.50 (or higher) to $6+ is definitely going to hurt business. I don't know the statistics on alcohol abuse by beer drinkers but because of extra expense and more difficult access, I suspect that not too many alcoholics abuse micro-brews if they can get something cheaper, and yet this added tax is going to most hurt the micro-breweries.

Why now, of all times, when jobs are threatened at every point, add a tax that is going to hurt local businesses? If this tax money were going to be used to rebuild the Sellwood Bridge in Portland (that is ready to fall down) I'd be able to see some point to it, but for "alcohol and drug treatment"? please. As far as I can see the alcohol and drug treatment business is already thriving in Oregon. There are treatment centers and providers everywhere. I don't know who pays for all this, but I doubt if much of it comes from alcohol taxes now or will it after the tax is raised.

I think it's just another excuse for a tax. They keep trying to think of things. A while back there was talk about an additional cell phone tax (because the conversations passed through the local air.) Of course the grocery bag tax our mayor wanted to implement. A higher tax on beer is I think, an inappropriate burden on small businesses at this point on time. Maybe they could impose that higher tax on out of state breweries, though I expect lots of people would not like that either.