November 7, 2009
- Eugene, Oregon
Should Oregon raise beer tax to $25 per keg?
By Addison Taylor KVAL News and KVAL.com Staff
EUGENE, Ore. --- Are you ready to cut beer out of your budget?
Lawmakers are considering a bill that would raise taxes on beer. The current excise tax is about $2.60 and the new bill raise it to $49.61 for a barrel of beer. There are two kegs in a barrel of beer, so the new tax would be almost $25 per keg -- which works out to around 20 cents per pint in a 128-pint half-barrel keg. Money generated would create the Alcohol Impact Remediation fund, which would distribute funds to various agencies that address treatment and recovery programs. One of the owners Ninkasi Brewing Company in Eugene, Ore., say one of the reasons that Oregon is the nations capital for craft brewing, is because of its low taxes on beer. "Oregonians drink more craft beer than anyone else in the country and it's a reason why its been such a strong industry and it would be unfortunate if it were to be hampered by something like this," said Nikos Ridge, co-owner of Ninkasi Brewing Company. He also added that the new tax may cause some breweries to cut costs, resulting in job losses, making an already bad economy even worse. Support for sin taxes over sales taxes A poll conducted last November showed two out of three Oregonians are willing to pay higher state "sin taxes" on tobacco, beer and wine but only two out of five think a sales tax is a good idea, even if income or property taxes are reduced. |
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