Riverton mayor wants beer tax raised to 28 cents
RIVERTON, Wyo. (AP) – Riverton Mayor Ron Warpness wants state lawmakers to increase the beer tax – unchanged since 1935 – from 2 cents to 28 cents a gallon and use the extra money to address problems created by alcohol abuse.
The Ranger (http://bit.ly/1kcWrAE ) reported Tuesday that Warpness is asking Fremont County commissioners for help lobbying for the hike. Any effort to increase alcohol taxes will face tough opposition from Wyoming’s liquor industry.
“There’s more tax on one cigarette than there is on a gallon of beer,” he said. “We do not spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on drunk tanks for smokers. We do not have families beating each other up over a cigarette.”
The tax on cigarettes is 60 cents a pack.
Some of the commissioners and state lawmakers he met with last week indicated they would provide some support for a hike, though some disagree about whether the money should be earmarked for alcohol-related problems.
Commission Chairman Doug Thompson said he thought county residents would back an increase if it helped the problems of alcohol abuse. Commissioner Keja Whiteman supported the tax but opposes earmarking the revenue.
State Sen. Cale Case, R-Lander, said he supported the hike but thinks lawmakers would oppose setting the money aside for a specific purpose.
Warpness said Sen. Ray Peterson, R-Cowley, is drafting a bill to increase the tax to 20 cents but the money would go into the state’s overall budget, not specifically to alcohol-related programs.
Mike Moser, lobbyist for the Wyoming State Liquor Association, said Tuesday his organization would fight any proposed tax increase in the Legislature.
“The beer tax proposals out of Riverton, shoot, they’ve been trying that for 20 years,” Moser said. “Essentially what they want to do is raise the price of everybody’s beer so they can pay for Fremont County.
“It’s a responsibly used product by the vast majority of people,” Moser said of beer. “And so taxing the vast majority that use it responsibly for the abuses of a few just doesn’t make much sense.”
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Information from: The (Riverton, Wyo.) Ranger, http://www.dailyranger.com
