Oregon legislature proposes 1,900% beer tax

[Slide Panda]

Yes...  nineteen HUNDRED percent tax has been proposed in Oregon

http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_021309_news_oregon_beer_tax.126942e1.html.

Yeah they have not raised that particular tax in 32 years, while every other state has.  But a 1900% hike is going to hurt those brewing businesses (and make beer cost even more boooo)

[Grampa]

Yes...  nineteen HUNDRED percent tax has been proposed in Oregon

http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_021309_news_oregon_beer_tax.126942e1.html.

Yeah they have not raised that particular tax in 32 years, while every other state has.  But a 1900% hike is going to hurt those brewing businesses (and make beer cost even more boooo)

yeah!!!!

fairnessism 

[MendoDave]

Everybody just nickes & dimes me to death. 

[herm]

make the beast with two backs!

now i'm never gonna sell that house

[Holden]

I wonder how much money it would cost them:

1. people not buying any beer at all/smuggling it in/brewing their own
2. people not moving to the state in the first place/moving out entirely
3. loss of tourism
4. loss of jobs forcing brewers to alcoholism
5. anti gov't/anti police mentality encouraging anarchy and vandalism

it's an intellectual prohibition!

[Sinister]

Looks like there's money to be made, selling beer across the border.

[Howie]

I doubt people will move out of Oregon or start smuggling beer over a tax that comes out to about $.20 a pint.  Of course, this assumes the bill goes through without compromise. Anyway, there goes a dollar's worth

[trenner]

Yes...  nineteen HUNDRED percent tax has been proposed in Oregon

http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_021309_news_oregon_beer_tax.126942e1.html.

Yeah they have not raised that particular tax in 32 years, while every other state has.  But a 1900% hike is going to hurt those brewing businesses (and make beer cost even more boooo)

Pretty sure that that should read "nineteen hundred percent tax INCREASE has been proposed in Oregon".

Either way, it's not very popular and thankfully highly unlikely to pass, but a 19-fold increase in the existing tax (which is what's being proposed) is not at all the same as taxing beer at 19 times the full value (which is what your statement at the top suggests).

[Holden]

Oh. That's kind of a different story...

No wonder $50 sounded like a lot for a beer.

[redxblack]

Isn't the Arrogant Bastard brewing company in Oregon? Their Oaked Ale is godlike, but at $16 a sixer, it's already too much money.

[krolik]

It's not even in the Legislature yet, just a proposal by one member of the House, and he's said he's willing to discuss the amount of increase.  The Beer & Wine industry has very effective lobbyists in this state, the last three times the Legislature tried to increase the beer tax, it failed.

[Mother]

we like to vote no on shit a lot. because they like to pull stupid shit like this

[ZLTFUL]

I doubt people will move out of Oregon or start smuggling beer over a tax that comes out to about $.20 a pint.  Of course, this assumes the bill goes through without compromise. Anyway, there goes a dollar's worth

Actually Howie, the $.20 is at the production level. Than doesn't factor in companies trying to maintain profit margins down the distribution chain. In the end, it factors out closer to $1.50 a pint to the consumer. You can try to argue the point but I work in beer distribution and know exactly where and what percent markups take place. I also read an email Kurt Widmer sent out to all of his distributors showing how this tax would effect his costs and how they would be passing it on to the distributors which pass it on to consumers...

All in all, a tax increase of this size is stupid and very unlikely to even get much consideration in Oregon. The only part I worry about is it opening the door to more potential legislation of the same kind...

[Slide Panda]

Actually Howie, the $.20 is at the production level. Than doesn't factor in companies trying to maintain profit margins down the distribution chain. In the end, it factors out closer to $1.50 a pint to the consumer.

The article I linked to calculated it out to a $1.50 per at the consumer end - their example was what had been a $4.50 glass would rise to $6.  That's a pretty hash step up... Around DC you'd be looking at $8-9 a beer at many downtown watering holes... Ow. 

[ZLTFUL]

Yeah...our CEO was pretty interested in this (he usually is for most beer legislation that effects our producers) and put some preliminary numbers together. The in state consumer difference would be in the neighborhood of $1.50 a pint. But when you jump to our end (out of state distributors) the costs jump upwards of $1.75-$1.80 a pint on the consumer end.