Governor Doyle makes it perfectly clear – again – where he stands on the beer tax. And where that is, is with the status quo. Doyle says the state beer tax would have to be increased substantially to make a significant difference in the state’s finances, and he’s not in favor of that.
AUDIO: Bob Hague reports (:55 MP3)
A bill from Doyle’s fellow Madison Democrat, state Representative Terese Berceau, recently was the subject of a standing room only public hearing at the Capitol. Doyle remains unconvinced. “The two states with the lowest beer taxes, it isn’t a coincidence that it is Missouri and Wisconsin,” Doyle said this week. “Other states don’t go after one of their leading industries.”
It appears extremely unlikely that the beer tax bill will end up on Doyle’s desk, but if it does, he says he’ll have to weigh the positives and negatives, and make a decision.