WA: Brewers protest proposed beer tax hike for small breweries

[CaseyJones]

http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/blog/2013/04/brewers-protest-increased-beer-taxes.html


Grabbing a pint at the local brewery might soon cost a few bucks more if new tax rules are approved.

Washington breweries descended on Olympia on Monday to protest Gov. Jay Inslee’s plan to expand the state’s brewery tax to even the smallest Washington brewers.

Inslee wants the Legislature to make permanent a $23.58 per-barrel tax that is set to expire this year. That tax has traditionally only applied to large-scale breweries – those that produce more than 2 million barrels per year. Smaller breweries have paid a reduced rate of $4.78 per barrel.

more at link ^

[The Goat]

fuck the "lets tax immoral shit more" tax system.

[belian78]

Twist just a little bit more, I'm sure there's a few drops left in there somewhere.

If I were a smaller brewer in WA, I'd be hard pressed to not just go completely underground and sell privately.

[JK/SEA]

//

[Keith and stuff]

I don't see how a pint is going to go up by a few bucks. That would be about a doubling of prices. I know Washington has had a name for itself as having some of the most expensive alcohol in the US but this is ridiculous!

[RabbitMan]

Not going to happen. Period.

[Orgoonian]

They tried that bovine feces here in Oregon too a while back...It got smacked down,hard.

[dannno]

As someone who has traveled to WA quite a few times and been to many local brew pubs there I can tell you the industry is very alive and very well. The state wants a bigger piece of the pie, but I don't think that is going to go over well with the populace.