“It would kill us,” says Wisconsin Tavern League President Rob Swearingen. He’s talking about an increase in the beer tax. Supporters of a beer tax increase say it would only amount to about two-and-a-half cents a bottle, but Swearingen says, by the barrel, it’s actually a 400 percent jump.
AUDIO: Rob Swearingen (:15 MP3)
Swearingen, who runs a supper club in Rhinelander, says the beer tax should be CUT, not raised. Owners of bars, restaurants, and grocery stores from around the state were at a legislative hearing yesterday to oppose the tax hike.
John Beil, who owns John’s in Beaver Dam, was among those at the Capitol on Tuesday to speak out against the proposal.
Tuesday’s hearing, the first on a beer tax hike in decades, was before the Assembly Public Safety Committee.
WIBA’s John Colbert submitted this report
