Oregon to raise beer tax 1900%

Oregon state legislature proposes to raise beer tax 1900%. Wonder how this will effect the price of home brew? Make it more economically attractive or do they plan to tax hops and grains too..

This Tax Is for You - WSJ.com

 

They need to check their math - the increase should be about 20 cents per pint, not $1.50 (that is, assuming I did the math right, which is by no means a given).

 

I doubt they've considered the tax revenue they'll lose as the businesses that sell beer start closing their doors. I can do do without a lot of things if it means not giving more tax dollars to our inept government.

Tom

 

+1 on not wanting the government to take any more of my hard earned money. Figbash, don't let J.G. see this or she might try something similar in MI.

I recall that there's a lot of hop research and that many of the new varieties were developed in Oregon. It would be a shame to diminish or loose that, in addtion to the craft brew industry there.

 

What is the tax now? At 1900% that could be reason enough for me to move.

 

+1

31gal/bbl*128oz/gal/16oz/pint= 248 pints/bbl

52.21/248= $0.22 increase per pint (rounded up from .211 so the bar eats 0 cost)

This is insane, they're basically trying to put all the Oregon microbreweries out of business it would seem.

 

Some say $2-$4 increase per six-pack (Kurt Widmer of Oregon, for one!).

Check out this link...

Oregon Proposing Largest Beer Tax Hike In The Nation's History - Slashfood

 

A bit off topic but I am surprised we haven't yet had a "Trash Tax" yet. You know, the more trash you put out the more you pay. My guess is they have yet to figure out a way to do it yet. It would encourage people to recycle or try to make better use of it. I of course am against it but it just seems like a prime target for them.

 

So a pint is 1.25 in Oregon right now? Pint of BMC is 4 $ here and Sams is in the 5 $ range

 

That exists in some parts of Europe.

 

Wonderful, I bet I see it in my lifetime then.

 

Ahh, government, got to love it. One day we'll all be hooked to machinery (like in The Matrix) to power some beaureacrat's house, and he'll be getting all the beer for himself while we get fed liquid tofu intravenously. I'm betting on Ted Kennedy, once the technology has been discovered to keep him alive forever. Ok, ok, I'm probably overreacting and exaggerating, but not by much.

Oh, and by the way, beer taxes (and all other forms of THEFT) suck.

 

20 cents a pint is nothing to be concerned about, think about what the rest of the world pays on a beer.

Look at it this way...

Do you drive on roads? do you enjoy fresh drinking water and electricity? do you like waking up in a free country with a military power to keep you safe and police force to help stop crime? Yes you do.

That's why the government takes our hard earned money. We all hate paying tax but its something that is necessary to live the way we all do.

 

Probably not best to turn this into a debate here but I don't have a road bill I pay every month but I do have an electric and water bill (at my other place anyway) I pay every month.
I think we most all understand our taxes go toward things we would have difficulties providing for ourselves like highways but they also spend a lot on things that we don't really need or have to do. Some of us would like to spend our money on what we want to but if they tax us to death we won't have spare change.

 

Bullcrap. Roads, police and all that are a very very minor part of what government spends our taxes on. Besides, do you get a water bill or an electric bill ? Yes, I bet you do - so your tax doesn't cover that at all - in fact I bet you anything if you examine your bill you'll see that not only do you pay for your electricity you get to pay an extra tax on it as well.

Government spends far and away the vast majority of your tax money on entitlements, with interest on money they borrowed to cover unnecessary spending coming in a close second. Military, Police and all the other things you'd have us to believe our taxes pay for are insignificant as compared to the huge amounts that are wasted on entitlements, kickbacks, fraud and just general waste.

 

I'm having a deja-vu moment:

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/so-oregon-wants-raise-per-barrel-tax-2-47-a-104523/
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f5/oregon-residents-103399/
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f19/oregon-beer-tax-petition-104256/

 

Government has stayed away from the "big" taxes for a while now. Instead, it's the ever-popular "sin" taxes (alcohol, tobacco, gambling.....of course, the latter is downplayed now that government is a major player with all the lotteries), and the less obvious one that creeps in from every direction.

I call it "being nibbled to death by ducks." Examine your phone bill, power bill, the breakdown of your property taxes. A lot of things called "fees" are really taxes. More and more things have a built-in "creep," as localities that refuse to vote to raise their taxes are now subject to "indexes" and "multipliers" or some mumbo-jumbo that the state uses to disguise the fact that they have removed local choice.

"Taxation without representation," upon which this country was founded, is now becoming more and more routine. In our area, the disease begun Iowa is now spreading, as sales taxes are being increased in cities with large retail centers to raise money for the schools, thus imposing double taxes on anyone who shops there but lives outside the county where the taxes are imposed, thus paying taxes in two school districts for the privilege of shopping, dining, etc. in such a municipality.

The entitlements mentioned in an earlier post are a monster that is usually portrayed only in terms of Social Security or Medicare, but it is also devouring many public and private retirement systems built on unsound actuarial assumptions fifty or more years ago.

And to top it all off, we have a political class, whether they be called Republicrats or Democritans, who -no matter what they say- are committed only to the continuation of their own careers, and not at all to the "change" on which the current occupant of the White House built his campaign.

My advice? Sit back, have a beer, and fasten your seat belt. It's going to be a fun ride.

 

Well I'm not going to sit here and list everything that tax dollars are used on that would be rediculous. My point above was that tax dollars provide electrical and water system upkeep and treatment plants. Yes you get charged for your water but did you pay for the pipeline to your house? Do you think that was all privately funded?

"Military, Police and all the other things you'd have us to believe our taxes pay for are insignificant as compared to the huge amounts that are wasted on entitlements, kickbacks, fraud and just general waste."

Again i can't possibly list everything tax pays nor did i attempt to. But I agree completely too much spending with the odd bit of fraud and corruption is leading to excessive waste, savings could be found and tax could be significantly reduced BUT compared to the rest of the world you are laughing. Take a look around the globe and see what others have. I think you would gladly throw another 20 cents to tax when you see how the other half lives.

I never meant to turn this into a debate, I just think its silly to worry about something so insignificant especially in a time when you really have to have faith in the government you elected.

 

You're right. You can't list everything tax pays for. I do ask that you list what expenses for which it makes sense to specifically require beer drinkers to pay for.

 

Poor Oregon

 

That is all you have to say with such a debate bourgeoning?

 

We're not from Oregon so we don't really need to stick our noses in their business.

 

You make a good point. I can not list anything that would justify raising tax specifically for beer drinkers. Why not wine drinkers? or spirits.

 

See ? someone gets it.

Beer tax doesn't pay for the water and electricity in anyone's house. It doesn't pay for military or police and firedepartments either for that matter.

 

It's also not in the debate thread

 

No its not used for any of that, however...

"The money is intended to reduce Oregon's $3 billion budget deficit and, ostensibly, to pay for drug treatment."

I sorry but i seem to have missed the point your trying to make.

 

Why should my portion of the debt be determined by the amount of beer that I drink?

 

My point is that Oregon doesn't have a $3 billion deficit over military spending or fire and police, or even water and electricity for that matter - It has a $3 billion budget deficit because of wasteful democrat spending. Can't blame it on republicans - there aren't any.

 

If drug treatment, including alcohol rehab, represents a significant portion of Oregon's budget deficit, I think you could make a case for taxing the consumption of alcohol...and to play devil's advocate, the consumption of drugs.

But the key word in the statement is ostensibly. The 'drug treatment' card was played as a weak attempt to justify a ridiculous tax. Although the majority of drug and alcohol treatment is publicly funded, this cost is a pimple on the elephant's ass.

Why are beer drinkers any more responsible for the deficit as a whole than any other group of consumers? They might as well start taxing bicycle tires and claim that the little rubber bits that wind up on the roads are enough to justify the cost of a fleet of street sweepers. Wow, look at me go, I could be a democrat!

...oh wait, I am. Nevermind.

 

I wish we only had a $3 billion deficit here in Republican Florida. But rather than increase taxes, they'd rather butcher our educational programs in a way that puts Normal Bates to shame while at the same time buying billions of dollars worth of sugar plantations for environmental restoration although they are going to be underwater in less than a century.

 

A big + 100 for that one. It absolutely sickens me how much money they waste, and it's not even their money to be wasting. We need term limits for people in congress.

 

So because Oregon's politicians ran up a budget deficit it's up to Oregon's beer drinkers to fix it? Maybe they could do what everyone else has to do, and balance the budget by cutting spending.

 

Well if you don't want to pay it then do something about it. Form a protest, write a nasty letter, find some proof this is not in Oregon's best interest. Do you homework. Hell leave the country. It seems complaining about it on homebrew talk is of little use.

While I don't know about Oregon's budget problem i find it hard to believe it is solely beer drinkers that are going to pick up the 3 billion dollar deficit.

Guitarbob it is a growing trend that raising tax is easier then cutting spending. Its happening everywhere. While I don't agree with it, I don't feel passionate enough to try and change it. But if someone here is I wish you the best of luck.

 

Cite your sources.

 

Cite your sources.
lol you must be an obama voter
your State Legislature is not a secret
dem have 60+% in both house and senate
thay totaly run the show and the repubs there are mostly rino's

Oregon State Senate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Oregon House of Representatives - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Yeah lets look at NM where I live, we have a deficit of 454 million for the year so far, the schools are in a similar situation, and Mr. Richardsons plan for "healthcare for all NM" will raise the healthcare cost by a projected 2 billion in the next two years. And during the onset of the recesesion they started building a commuter train that had no place in the budget in the first place. Now that gas is cheap our state makes much less revinue.

Once again all ran by Richardson and company, all democrats. Im not saying Republicans havent made any poor decisions but when we look at these states it dosent paint a good picture for the dems at all.

Raising excise taxes it a great way for these guys to collect extra income, because these kinds of taxes kind of flow under the radar for most people. It might only be .22cents a pint or whatever but if every year we say ahh its only .22 cents next thing we know it will be a buck, then 2 and 3 and 4. It is a hell of a lot easyer(in these cases) to stop tax hikes then to bring them down.
Oh and PS Mr. Richardson...PLEASE shave your beard! Why does our governor insist on looking like a slob.

 

Ugh.... Clayton i guess you misunderstood me. I meant to challenge a "3 billion budget deficit because of wasteful democrat spending." not the balance of rep vs dem. You would have to be a moron to think i would argue such publicly available information.

3 billion is a lot of money, before i believe it i will need to see something that shows the democrats pissed away that much money. That is what I'm interested in seeing.

But hey don't get mad at me. My only points were.

1. 20cents is not that big of a deal.
2. Tax (not necessary beer tax) is necessary to enjoy the quality of life we live today. I even went as far as to agree allot of it is wasted. I just don't think that number is as high as 3 billion.

Were supposed to be adults, why the sensitivity?

Also i never voted for Obama. I never voted at all. Both the democrats and republicans **** up and **** us over. They just do it in different ways. I ride the wave and enjoy the quality of life much of the world does not have. I wake up every day and thank god i was born in a free country and not in Somalia. Call me whatever you like but I will pay whatever the state ask within reason, and live in a delightful country where i do not have to be a pirate.

 

looks to be 2b + 800 m

 

Good find. Its everything i wanted to see.

Looks like it is going to be a rough few years.

 

here is a list of changes the dems would like to make to raise more taxes
compiled by the house minorty leader
http://www.leg.state.or.us/houserepublicans/tax_bills.pdf