Ohio beer drinkers have some good news from the Tax Foundation. In a recent study, the Foundation learned that Ohio is among the mediocre state when it comes to taxes. Out of all 50 states, Ohio excise tax of beer was a meager 18 cents, which earned Ohio the mediocre ranking of 28.
Ohio’s middle-of-the-road beer tax may be the result on only an average number of drinkers among both taxpayer and especially their political representatives. Many Ohioans and their representatives may drink the stuff, but when compared to the nation of drinkers as a whole, the number of Ohio consumers of beer is only average.
Sarah Palin’s state, Alaska, is ranked number #1 in the nation. That means two things: (1) Alaska taxes beer drinkers an outrageous amount of $1.07, the highest in the nation. It seems apparent that Alaskan officials do not even like the taste of beer. They want to dissuade the populace from consuming that stuff.
Only a few cents beyond Alaska is Alabama, Georgia, Hawaii, and South Carolina. Except for Hawaii, I wonder if those southern states were originally prohibitionist. May be the citizenry and their politicians are smarter than others, or maybe they place a much higher value on getting drunk.
At any rate, the state with the lowest excise taxes on beer is Wyoming at 2 cents. That rate is in line with its cowboy history of two bit for a beer. Other states with only a few cents higher taxes include Missouri, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Colorado, and Kentucky.
Now, I’m wondering whether Missouri also keeps with its history of helping the pony express riders numb the pain from saddle sores. I imagine beer is as good as any painkiller. Wisconsin, on the other hand, is considered by some as the modern beer making capital of the United States. They would like to build a pipeline to transport their flammable fuel to every home. Then, there is Colorado known as Rocky Mountain high, which might be beer related but doubtfully so. The two surprises are Pennsylvania and Kentucky. The three things that come to mind about Pennsylvania is the Puritan taste for Rum, the Quakers religion, and the Constitution–not the love of beer. And, Kentucky used to be one of the moonshine states. Maybe Kentuckians traded the gut-rotting moonshine in for the more healthy brain numbing alcoholic beverage.
Ohioans can be glad politicians do not regard beer as a candidate for the sin tax–at least not yet.