news you can use

Libertarians Call On Congress To Cut Beer Tax

By Jim Burns
CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer
August 29, 2001

(CNSNews.com) - The Libertarian Party Wednesday called on Congress to get off its Bass and pass legislation that would cut the beer tax in half as soon as they return from their summer recess. Libertarians believe that cheaper beer is as all-American as Killian's Red, Sam Adams White and Labatt's Blue.

For beer lovers, this bill tastes great, is less taxing. If Congress refuses to act on this beer cut, then Joe Sixpack will be sadder, Budweiser, about politicians priorities, according to Bill Winter, a spokesman for the Libertarian Party.

Rep. Phil English (R-Pa.) filed the bill before the House adjourned for its summer recess. It would slash the federal tax on beer from $18 a barrel to $9 a barrel and would save beer-drinkers an average of 16 to 32 cents per six-pack.

Winter thinks Congress should support the bill because such a tax cut Fosters good feeling among ordinary Americans.

This is a Molson Golden opportunity for Congress to repeal the 1990 tax hike that doubled the federal levy on beer. When, in the Coors of human events, it becomes possible to give America's 30 million regular beer drinkers a tax break, politicians should do so with gusto, he said.

Forty-four percent of the price of beer is swallowed by federal, state and local taxes, according to Winter, it is a Grolsch violation of human rights to tax beer so steeply, especially when cutting the tax in half would reduce federal revenues by only $1.7 billion per year.

Congress ought to be debating how Lowenbrau taxes can go, not how high they can remain, he said.

Winter acknowledged that Congress does deserve a Pabst Blue Ribbon for even considering the bill.

Now they should get off their Duffs and pass it and send to President George W. Busch for his signature. This bill deserves support across the partisan spectrum, whether you are a Lone Star Republican, a Red Dog Democrat or Sam Adams-style Libertarian, he said.

The beer tax cut bill would also promote diversity, Winter believes.

This bill will encourage Americans to drink Murphy's Irish Stout, Harpoon India Pale Ale, Paulaner Bavarian Alpine Extreme, Thames Welsh Ale, Flying Fish Belgian Style Dubbel, Baron Premium Czech Dark Lager and Belhaven Scottish Ale, he said.

This could help bring Americans out of the Becks Dark days of beer-drinking intolerance and into the Miller Lite of multiculturalism, said Winter.

English's spokesperson, Jennifer Hall, said 177 House members have already signed on as co-sponsors of the bill, which also has strong backing from national brewers and beer wholesalers.

We have heard some opposition from MADD, but last year Congress lowered the blood alcohol level and the brewers have increased their efforts to address drunken driving and underage drinking. And, there is no correlation that increasing the beer tax actually reduces drinking, Hall said.

According to Mary Kerr, the spokesperson for Rep. James L. Oberstar (D-Minn.), the bill is designed to benefit everyone who drinks beer, obviously. But disproportionately, it's a tax that affects the low to middle class more than anyone else.

It's an excise tax, she said. All the other excise taxes that have been enacted around that same period of time, taxes on furs, jewelry and luxury boats have all been repealed, but the beer tax has remained in place.

The beer tax had been labeled as a luxury tax. We and others believe that that is very much a misnomer. You can't compare a tax on a six-pack of beer to a tax on a luxury boat or car, Kerr said.

Many of these so-called luxury taxes have been repealed, and the ones that have been repealed tend to benefit upper income folks who can afford the expensive boats, she said. It's Mr. Oberstar's contention that those in perhaps the lower incomes who might drink beer should also benefit from these tax cuts that Mr. Bush is pushing through.

Mother Against Drunk Driving (MADD) maintains the bill would lead to more traffic accidents and other alcohol related problems, according to Mille Webb, president of MADD.

Webb also believes lowering taxes would lead to increased alcohol-related deaths and accidents among young people. Further, Webb said, We not only oppose it, but in fact we'd support a substantial increase in these taxes.

Daniel Bradford, president of the Brewers' Association of America disagrees with MADD, stating the beer industry is partly [responsible] for the decrease in alcohol-related accidents.

We have been very, very aggressive in promoting responsibility, Bradford said, adding that the industry spends about $20 million a year in safety programs.

Gregory Bloss, of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism also warned against assuming a direct correlation between any increases in beer taxes and reductions in alcohol-related incidents. For one thing, he said, alcohol-related fatalities have been decreasing since 1980, even in years without tax increases.

CNSNews.com Editorial Assistant Mike Betsch contributed to this report.

Design copyright Scars Publications and Design. Copyright of individual pieces remain with the author. All rights reserved. No material may be reprinted without express permission from the author.

Problems with this page? Then deal with it...