Select U.S. States Looking to Boost Alcohol Tax

In an attempt to balance budgets during a tough economic time, several states are considering increasing the taxes on alcohol. There are currently 18 states exploring the possibility of raising the cost of booze in an effort to minimize deficits. Among those states are New York and Oregon, with Kentucky having already passed a measure that will boost taxes by 6 percent on all store-bought beer, wine, and liquor. Bloomberg Press reports:

New York plans to more than double its beer and wine tax, while Oregon may increase its surcharge to $49.61 per 31-gallon (117-liter) barrel from $2.60.

It seems the bulk of these increases are going to be passed along to the end consumer, and between waning demand due to people cutting back on discretionary spending, and the proposed tax increase, this could have a strong negative impact on the industry as a whole. As of now, it looks like the greatest hope for America’s distilleries is that the economy eventually becomes so bad that demand for alcohol spikes back up, and the cost of “forgetting your problems” becomes irrelevant to everyday consumers.