Oregon defeats beer tax
By Noah Davis • Jun 19th, 2009 • Category: Beer News
Some good news on a Friday: the proposed beer tax raise in Oregon is dead, at least for now.
The increase, introduced by Rep. Ben Cannon, D-Portland, didn’t get enough support but could be reintroduced in February. Oregon currently boasts the country’s lowest tax — less than a penny a 12-oz. glass. Cannon’s proposal would have raised “the tax to $5 a barrel for smaller craft breweries and $23 for big beer makers that pump out more than two million barrels a year,” or roughly $85 million every two years that would have gone to fund alcohol and drug treatment facilities, as well as public safety initiatives.
After raising taxes on gas, hospitals, and the rich already this year, the Democratic party didn’t have the votes to push through one more increase. We’ll drink to that.
congrats to those who worked hard to defeat this. i enjoy and respect Oregon’s most unique and prosperous industry. cheers!
Oregon has a beer tax proposal every year, and this is surely not the final battle. Rep. Cannon has learned a lot about how to raise taxes on beer in Beervana, and his new proposal will be a lot more carefully crafted. It will still get opposition, and the final amount for big breweries likely won’t be $23/barrel, but it’s not terrible legislation, and small breweries may do well to support it.
So the beer tax will fund what? Why isn’t anybody outraged over another tax increase? Why do people in Oregon still elect another Democrat that only knows how to bring in a new tax to give the money to someone else? We give up our liberty so easily……..what a shame.