The Green Dragon is hosting a ceremonial “dumping of the beer” on Thursday to protest the 1900% proposed beer tax being discussed in Salem. I love that they point out that the original Green Dragon in Boston was the site for revolutionaries during he war for independence. This is a battle we must win.
The festivities begin at 5pm and during the event you will be able to learn more about the proposed tax and write letters to your state representatives. Further, just to drive the point home, they will raise their pint prices to 2010 levels reflecting what may be the price if the tax is approved.
Not Taxation without Representation
Anti-Beer tax party
Green Dragon
SE 9th/Yamhill
Thursday, Feb 26th. 5pm.
{ 4 comments }
One night of speculative 2010 prices? That’s not really making me want to go to the Green Dragon tonight, even if I could.
It’s certainly an interesting experiment to see if customers are willing to pay the additional tax…if their take for the evening is the same as a similar Thursday, would Green Dragon and Rogue agree not to oppose any and all tax increases? I’m guessing no.
Rather than opposing this tax outright, it would be helpful if you suggested other ways (besides Santa Obama) to patch the woeful state budget hole.
This is obviously a very small band-aid for a gaping wound, and I don’t think it’s good tax policy to look for this kind of stop-gap. (We need to repeal Measure 5, increase the corporate minimum tax, and institute a truly progressive income tax, but our governor and legislature lack the vision, leadership and political will to make any of that happen.) But I do like sin taxes in general, since alcohol and tobacco end up costing society so much in the long run.
Comparing a tax increase of fourteen cents on a glass of beer to the the milieu of the American Revolution is disingenuous.
Are you opposed to sin taxes outright, or just ones on your sin of choice? Cigarette taxes have risen exponentially over the years, way more than this beer tax. Were you opposed to those increases, too? If our libertarian, anti-tax electorate opposes true tax reform, but insists on spending ever-increasing amounts of money on incarceration, how do we pay for education and social services?
Just trying to expand your thinking on this a little. An extra fourteen cents on a beer that already costs $4 doesn’t seem like such a big deal to me, but then, I drink Vodka.
@Steve R. yeah, the link to the American Revolution is a stretch. I didn’t write their poster, I just let everyone know about the party.
Your comments pertain I believe more to my previous post about the tax, but I’ll answer here:
I’m not opposed to an increased beer tax and think we have to pay the piper at times. That is fine. My challenge (and you alluded to it) is that we would go from the lowest taxes per barrel in the nation to 28% higher than the current highest per barrel tax. In a state where the microbrewery industry is thriving and creating jobs, that seems crazy. Increase it to $10 or $15 a barrel. You would still generate funds, but not make it so onerous that you risk shutting down breweries.
We do need tax reform, but going after a thriving business in the state may not be the best choice. We already drive big companies out of the state due to our tax laws, why risk making it more hostile?
The claim of 14c per beer tax is false. The bill being proposed is not a tax on end user consumption, but on production of the product. No one knows how much this tax would be passed on to the consumer or if it could be. Do you really think the business would survive if they passed this tax on to per 6pack? A $7 sixpack now costing $10 or $12? No, they couldn’t do that, so the breweries have to eat that cost somewhere else. As you increase costs, you decrease jobs and the ability to start-ups to thrive.
I’m not a wonk and yes, this hits close to home because I love beer. I don’t have answers to the over arching question of how to fund schools or drug treatment or other social services. In my opinion, I guess they aren’t important to the populous enough because we keep electing people who don’t try to change it. Just my opinion.
If we as a state don’t care about funding schools or social services, but get exercised over a beer tax, it says a lot about our civic character.
That’s my point.
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