EUGENE, Ore .– Bartenders in Eugene are intrigued by House Bill 3296, legislation that would increase beer taxes by almost 3,000% and wine by almost 2,000%.
“It’s the most useless thing I’ve ever heard,” said Trev’s Sports Bar host Dustin Cordeiro. “We should have the right to go out and have a beer and not be charged an exorbitant amount.”
Side Bar bartender Kyle Clark agrees.
“This is the wrong time to collect some kind of tax on us,” said Clark.
But proponents of the new project said it would help create a fund to create a drug addiction recovery district and help curb excessive alcohol consumption by minors.
“Take that revenue that it generates and for people who suffer from addiction, putting into the financing of this strategic plan that we spent the last three years developing and funding fully so that we can increase recovery rates,” Oregon Recovers Executive Director, Mike Marshall said.
Marshall said that Oregon has the third highest rate of alcohol dependence and least access to treatments.
But local bartenders believe that this new tax would not solve problems related to alcohol consumption, such as addiction or DUI.
“People are going to start making liquors, fermenting on their own, fermenting illegally. So I think it will push people in the wrong direction, ”said Cordiero.
“Alcoholism is a problem. I think it’s something we need to take care of,” said Bailey’s Cafe bartender Micah Bosket. “But some people just want to go out and have a drink with friends. Where I am from now, we have a lot of other problems that we really need to address now.”
Currently, the tax on the beer barrel is $ 2.60. The bill would increase to $ 72.60. For wine, the tax would range from $ 0.65 to $ 10.65 a barrel.
If the project is approved, the changes will take effect on January 1, 2022.