Posted on 02/13/2005 9:20:40 AM PST by Libloather
Kentucky Distillers: Governor's Alcohol Tax Plan Bad For Our Business, Bad For Our Families
Thu Feb 10,11:16 AM ET
To: State Desk
Contact: David Wojnar, 508-662-0661, or Lisa Hawkins, 202-682-8840, or Sarah Rosen, 202-682-8857, all for the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S., Web: http://www.distilledspirits.org
FRANKFORT, Ky., Feb. 10 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Master Distillers from Kentucky's famed bourbon distilleries today addressed the Kentucky House Appropriations and Revenue Committee to explain why Gov. Ernie Fletcher's proposal to raise taxes on beverage alcohol would hurt Kentucky's home industry, push consumers to purchase home-grown products in other states and potentially hurt their business nationwide.
"By piling on an additional six percent burden, Kentucky's tax on a bottle of our product would be the highest of any state in the country," said Bill Samuels, president and CEO of Maker's Mark Distillery at today's hearing. "This would place some Kentucky retailers at a considerable tax advantage to the surrounding states of Tennessee, Indiana and Illinois."
Other bourbon companies are worried that the statewide tax could hurt their national business. T.J. Graven, who serves as director of investor relations for the Brown-Forman Company, said today: "I am receiving calls from concerned shareholders and people in the investment community asking questions like: 'Why are Kentucky distillers being treated this way in their own back yard?'"
Fred Noe, seventh generation distiller for Jim Beam, expressed concern for his employees. "This industry is an integral part of our state's history, passed down from one generation to the next. Many of my employees have been with us for decades and their families rely on the sale of our products. I simply cannot understand why the Governor has chosen to place an additional burden on this venerable state industry."
David Wojnar, vice president of the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S., said the Fletcher proposal would add a six percent sales tax on top of the state's already high excise tax. "This would result in triple taxation and add a huge new burden on a home state industry that employs thousands of Kentuckians." The bourbon industry brings in $2.2 billion in direct state economic activity annually.
I've just recently discovered bourbon following a business trip to Lexington, KY. The ones I've tried are Basil Hayden, Maker's Mark, Jim Beam, Woodfield Reserve and Knob Creek. Since I'm new to this American elixir, what do you gents recommend I try next?
Taxing it is all about the suppression of personal freedom.
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The Tax Code is a weapon. A weapon against personal ownership, against independent wealth and a method of redistribution of wealth. It HAS TO BE WATCHED VERY CLOSELY -- else tyranny can sping from it --- ala our fine liberals that would tax "the ownership society" out of existnece for the SAKE OF POWER AND CONTROL...
Bookers....the finest bourbon on the planet.
KY loves it's Makers Mark,, and the state knows it, and knows how to clinch some more dollars from it!
Jerks!
Some taxes are being raised; others are being lowered.
Contact: Lisa Hawkins, 202-682-8840 or Sarah Rosen, 202-682-8857, both of the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 18 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. (DISCUS) today commented on the Kentucky House rejection of Governor Ernie Fletcher's six percent sales tax and its proposal to raise the wholesale tax by two percent to a total of 11 percent.
"While we appreciate that the House recognized that an increase of six percent on top of the taxes retailers and wholesalers already pay is fiscally unsound, we will continue to urge the legislature to drop the tax all together," said David Wojnar, vice president of DISCUS. "We are still opposed to any increase in taxation because of the message it sends and the affect it will have on the long-term prospects of Kentucky's signature industry."
Kentucky already imposes a $1.92 per gallon excise tax on spirits, plus a nine percent wholesale tax on each bottle. In addition, Kentucky imposes licensing fees on operators in the state, which adds another $1.00 to the cost of each gallon sold. Governor Fletcher's original proposal would add an extra six percent on top of this burden, thereby making taxes on Kentucky's spirits the highest of any license state in the nation.
Wojnar also pointed out that the Governor's proposal would mean that beverage alcohol was subject to triple taxation. The Governor's six percent would be added on top of the excise tax and the wholesale tax. "There is no other product in Kentucky that is subject to this kind of burdensome, punitive taxation," he said.
I would suggest you two read some of the history of the Volstead Act, and the ramifications thereof.
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