No tax boost for 'alcopops' – Omaha World
Project Extra Mile, a nonprofit group fighting underage drinking, displayed several examples of flavored malt beverages.
MIKE BELL/WORLD-HERALD NEWS SERVICE
Published Friday March 16, 2012
Nebraska lawmakers advanced a bill that would classify and tax flavored malt beverages as beers. Opponents argued that the beverages are marketed toward underage drinkers and should carry a higher tax.
Here are some examples of each, and their relative alcohol content. The alcohol content of some liquors is shown for comparison.
Beer: Alcohol content derived from fermentation and brewing of grains such as barley.
Amstel Light, 3.5 percent
Miller Lite, 4.2 percent
Old Milwaukee, 4.5 percent
Dos Equis XX, 4.9 percent
Budweiser, 5 percent
Lucky Bucket, 6.3 percent
Sam Adams Double Bock,
8.2 percent
“Alcopop”: Some alcohol content derived from brewing, with up to 49 percent of the content coming from distilled spirits.
Seagrams Fuzzy Navel, 3.2 percent
Parrot Club, 4.2 percent
Smirnoff Ice, 4.5 percent
Jack Daniels Black Jack, 5 percent
Mike’s Hard Lemonade, 5.5 percent
Jeremiah Weed Spiked Cola, 5.8 percent
Smirnoff Black Fruit Punch,
8 percent
Liquor: Alcohol content is produced by distilling fermented grain, fruit or vegetables.
Parrot Bay Rum, 21 percent
Seagram 7, 35 percent
Smirnoff Vodka, 40 percent
Jack Daniels Black, 40 percent
Crown Royal, 40 percent
SOURCE: Nebraska Grocery Industry Association
LINCOLN — Looks like fans of Mike’s Hard Lemonade and other flavored malt beverages won’t have to stock up to beat a tax increase.
Nebraska lawmakers advanced a bill Thursday that would keep taxes on the drinks at current levels.
The 27-7 vote was a blow to public health advocates who have argued that marketing of the sweet fruitlike drinks is aimed at youngsters.
Diane Riibe, executive director of Project Extra Mile, a nonprofit group fighting underage drinking, called the vote disappointing.
“Unfortunately, when it came to kids, a whole lot of them didn’t stand up, they sat,” she said of state senators.
Riibe contends that Legislative Bill 824 gives preferential tax treatment to flavored malt beverages, which critics call “alcopops.”
The Nebraska Supreme Court ruled two weeks ago that the drinks should be classified as spirits under current state law. Instead, they have been taxed and treated as beer.
State taxes on spirits are $3.75 per gallon, compared with 31cents per gallon for beer.
State Sen. Russ Karpisek of Wilber, the General Affairs Committee chairman, said the law in question was written long before flavored malt beverages ever hit the market.
He said LB 824 would update the law and bring Nebraska in line with federal definitions about what can be considered beer. Federal regulations allow beer to have up to 49 percent of its alcohol content from distilled spirits.
“If the Legislature fails to pass this bill, there will be a tax increase for these products,” Karpisek said.
But Sen. John Harms of Scottsbluff said the issue is “greed” by the liquor industry, which turned to flavored malt beverages to counter a decline in beer sales.
Harms argued that the price of the drinks should be high to discourage youngsters from drinking. He pointed to studies showing that Nebraska ranks among the top states in rates of teen drinking, teen binge drinking and teens driving after drinking.
Other senators said the problem of underage drinking is bigger than one type of drink.
Sen. Colby Coash of Lincoln questioned whether raising the tax would make a dent in the teen drinking problem.
“This is a clarifying bill,” Coash said. “This is not a bill about marketing to children.”
Flavored malt beverages are brewed like beer, although most of the beer taste, color and some of the alcohol are stripped away. Flavors produced through a distilling process are added to replace some of the brewed alcohol.
The beverages’ alcohol level is similar to beer.
A 2003 federal study found that most of the alcohol in the flavored malt beverages came from distilled spirits. Federal regulations adopted since then limit the alcohol from distilled spirits to 49 percent of the total alcohol in the drinks.
Contact the writer:
402-473-9583, martha.stoddard@owh.com
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