SALEM â Oregon legislators Tuesday, Feb. 23, introduced House Bill 3296, dubbed the Addiction Crisis Recovery Act, which would increase the state s beer tax by 2,800% and wine tax by 1,700%.
Based on industry estimates, HB 3296 would increase the cost of every bottle of wine sold in Oregon by more than $2. The tax would be even higher on ciders and beers.
The bill s supporters say it will reduce underage and binge drinking by raising the wholesale price of alcohol, and the money raised from taxes will be invested in treatment and recovery programs and infrastructure for people with alcohol addiction.
Opponents, including beer, wine and cider business leaders, say the proposed tax could devastate their industries at a time when they re already struggling during the pandemic.
Organizations representing producers of Oregon beer, wine, and spirits are sounding the alarm about a bill proposed in the legislature that would majorly hike taxes on alcohol.
Salem, Ore. – The legislature today introduced House Bill 3296, which would increase taxes on Oregon wine by nearly 1700 percent, giving Oregon the highest wine, beer and spirits taxes in the nation. The bill would also increase taxes on beer and cider by nearly 2800 percent. HB 3296 would increase wine taxes from 65 cents to $10.65 per gallon. Based on rough estimates, this would increase the cost of every bottle of wine sold in Oregon by more than two dollars.
“The idea of increasing the tax on small, local wineries that provide important jobs and tourism revenue to the state when we are just beginning to approach recovery from the current economic crisis is incomprehensible, let alone an increase of nearly 1700 percent,” Sam Tannahill, Founder and Winegrower at A to Z Wineworks and Rex Hill winery, said. “As written, this proposal would potentially force most of Oregon’s prized wineries to simply shut down, as they would be unable to sustain their operatio
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