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Outrage brewing over proposed 1,900% beer tax hike
Lawmakers say tax will help budget; brewers warn of lost jobs
08:32 AM PST on Monday, February 16, 2009
By ERIC ADAMS, kgw.com Staff

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Five Oregon state lawmakers want to impose a hefty tax on beer and have introduced a bill that brewers say would cripple them.

Four Portland legislators joined a Springfield senator to introduce Oregon House Bill 2461, which would impose a $49.61 tax on each barrel of beer produced by Oregon brewers.

The tax would raise revenue for the state at a time when budgets are running in the red. Specifically, the bill says it would fund prevention, treatment and recovery programs for those addicted to alcohol and other substances.

It also defends the tax by claiming alcoholism and “untreated substance abuse” costs the state $4.15 billion in “lost earnings” as well as more than $8 million for health care and nearly $1 billion in law enforcement-related expenditures.

HB 2461 claims Oregon ranks 49th among states in its malt beverage taxation rate, which has not been raised in 32 years.