Oregon to raise beer tax 1900%

[abracadabra]

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

 

[ArcaneXor]

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).

 

[Figbash]

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

 

[noble13]

+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.

 

[jgln]

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

 

[Baja_Brewer]

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).

+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)

Even without the tax increase, taxes are the single most expensive ingredient in a glass of beer, according to the Oregon Brewers Guild.

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

 

[McWort]

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

 

[jgln]

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.

 

[springer]

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

 

[ArcaneXor]

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.

That exists in some parts of Europe.

 

[jgln]

That exists in some parts of Europe.

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

 

[GAbrewer]

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.

 

[mat_890]

+1 on not wanting the government to take any more of my hard earned money.

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.

 

[jgln]

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.

 

[Mutilated1]

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.

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.

 

[ShortSnoutBrewing]

I'm having a deja-vu moment:

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

 

[rico567]

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.

 

[mat_890]

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.

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.

 

[taylornate]

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.

 

[DeathBrewer]

Poor Oregon

 

[hopdog]

Poor Oregon

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

 

[Parker36]

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.

 

[mat_890]

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.

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.

 

[Mutilated1]

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.

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.

 

[DeathBrewer]

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.

It's also not in the debate thread

 

[mat_890]

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.

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.

 

[taylornate]

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?

 

[Mutilated1]

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.

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.

 

[freddyb]

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

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.

 

[ArcaneXor]

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.

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.