Oregon Taking Beer Tax Testimoy...

Beer Luvvas,

Some quotes from Oregon Live's coverage of today's Beer Tax Hearing.

"I risked everything to own my own business. I pay taxes like everyone else. I pay another tax for the 'privilege' to brew beer. We pay property tax on the land Ninkasi sits on. My employees pay income tax," said Jamie Floyd, part-owner and brewmaster at Ninkasi Brewing Company in Eugene.

Advocates of a beer tax increase -- Oregon's is the second lowest in the country, about eight-tenths of a penny per glass -- say there's no reason why a 15 cent tax should translate into a $1.50 markup to the customer.

"It defies logic and it defies the evidence," says Cannon, a Portland Democrat.
Cannon, who is co-sponsoring the legislation with Sen. Jackie Dingfelder, D-Portland, and Sen. Bill Morrisette, D-Springfield, says he's open to changing the tax, and he hopes the revenue committee will consider the beer tax as part of a larger revenue raising mix.

Drug and alcohol addiction services have been severely underfunded for decades, and the additional tax would raise $330 million a biennium. County officials and former addicts were among those who pleaded plaintively with legislators to raise the tax.

Prost to our Constitutional right to vote these folks out of office at the next election!