Oregon beer tax

A tax reformer, a brewer, a vintner, a distiller, a regulator and health counselor walk into a room and debate alcohol addiction and treatment. What do you get? You get Oregon’s

Task Force on Alcohol Pricing and Addiction Services

. Last week the task force’s discussion clung hard to

the “law” of Rufus Miles

: Where you stand is where you sit. What follows is not exactly how the debate went. The cast, as we labeled them, aren’t individuals. The quotes aren’t precise,

though they aren’t far off

. The Tax Reformer called for more revenue or to redo how Oregon collects revenue: “Oregon gave away $5.6 billion in revenue from the kicker back to taxpayers! Oregon does not have a sales tax! And beer and wine taxes haven’t been raised in Oregon for decades!” The Brewer, The Vintner and The Distiller were allied: “Why would you want to hurt small Oregon businesses already struggling under heavy regulation and flat consumer demand? We are regulated on who can touch what. We are regulated on signs. We are regulated on how we sell. And if we make a mistake, we lose our license.” The Regulator stuck with facts: “Oregon’s beer excise taxes were 8 cents per gallon in 2023, the 45th highest in the nation. Oregon’s wine excise taxes were 67 cents per gallon in 2021 and the 31st highest in the nation. And Oregon’s distilled spirits excise taxes were $22.86 per gallon and second in the nation in 2023.” The Health Counselor had the grimmest of messages: “Cheaper alcohol means more deaths. And people with lower incomes and fewer supports suffer the most from addiction.” So where is the task force headed on its task of making a recommendation to the Legislature on alcohol treatment and funding options? That’s not clear. The task force members were last week gathering information and learning. Whatever the task force leans into as a recommendation, it will be high in volume of predicament. Alcohol is a powerful social lubricant. The industry creates thousands of jobs. Taxes on it mollify its impacts. But the brutal reality of alcohol addiction is it destroys many lives. “Excessive alcohol use remains the third leading cause of preventable death among Oregonians and is responsible for over 2,000 deaths annually,”

the Oregon Health Authority says

. And that does not include related injuries, diseases and families in ruins.

Oregon has predicament with alcohol