Proposed Liquor Tax Tucked Away In Gov. Kate Brown's Budget
As she finalized her budget proposal for the next two years, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown made no secret of the fact she’d push for higher tobacco taxes, which she believes should play a larger role in funding health care.
At the same time, Brown said she wouldn’t pursue higher taxes on beer and wine, despite a request by the Oregon Health Authority. There wasn’t enough “bang for the buck” in that idea in a state with powerful beer and wine industries, Brown told reporters.
But there was one “sin tax” that Brown didn’t mention — to the media or the industry that would be affected. Brown wants to increase what the state collects from liquor sales.
Tucked toward the back of Brown’s 500-page, $26.3 billion budget proposal released Wednesday is a single mention that the governor hopes to raise the markup on Oregon liquor sales by 5 percent beginning July 2019. The move would bring an extra $21.2 million into the state’s general fund, according to the budget proposal.
Read more: https://www.opb.org/news/article/oregon-budget-proposal-liquor-tax/
= new reply since forum marked as read
