USA: A legislator has proposed increasing the beer tax from US$2 to US$3 per barrel in Wisconsin sate to provide funds for alcohol-abuse treatment provided by counties, according to Associated Press. Rep. Terese Berceau, D-Madison, said on April 4 the boost would be only 2 cents per six-pack and "isn't a hardship for anybody." But Rep. Jim Kreuser, the Assembly Democratic leader from Kenosha, said Assembly Democrats "will not support tax increases" on beer and cigarettes.

Berceau said the current $2 per-barrel tax is the third-lowest in the nation and the lowest of all neighboring states. The $2 tax was first levied in 1969 and, if adjusted for inflation, it would be more than $10 per barrel today, she said. Despite Wisconsin's reputation as a beer-brewing, beer-loving state, Berceau called raising the tax the "right thing to do."

Beer-makers and sellers "bear some of the responsibility for the problems that their product creates," including 300 people killed in alcohol-related accidents each year and 800 who die from alcohol-related disease, she said. "We've got a drinking issue in this state," she added, calling the beer tax a user fee. She said her proposal would keep a tax break for small breweries and brew pubs, which pay half of the $2 tax on the first 50,000 barrels they brew.

E-malt.com, the global information source for the brewing and malting industry professionals. The bi-weekly E-malt.com Newsletters feature latest industry news, statistics in graphs and tables, world barley and malt prices, and other relevant information. Click here to get full access to E-malt.com. If you are a Castle Malting client, you can get free access to E-malt.com website and publications. Contact us for more information at marketing@castlemalting.com .