Bill would increase tax on beer for breweries over 125,000 bbls/year.
A bill is making its way through the Oregon state House that would increase the tax on a 12 oz. beer from less than a penny to around 10 cents for most major breweries.
The proposed bill would raise a projected $60 million in state revenues that would be used for prevention, treatment and enforcement of drug and alcohol abuse. The tax would raise the tax on all companies that sell over 125,000 barrels of beer annually.
Currently the tax on beer in Oregon is one of the lowest in the nation, having not seen an increase since the 1970s. “It’d be a hefty increase, but there hasn’t been one for 30 years,” said Don Bishoff, the legislative assistant to Bill Morrisette, the bill’s other chief sponsor.