(1) The 1990 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, which contained several so-called `luxury taxes', increased the Federal excise tax on beer by 100 percent, to $18 per barrel. As a result, as much as 44 percent of the retail price of beer is now consumed by taxes.
(2) Middle and lower-income Americans, who comprise the vast majority of our Nation's 90,000,000 beer drinkers, cannot afford this tax on one of their few `luxuries'. Those who would presume to indulge in the `luxury' of purchasing beer are now among the most heavily taxed people in our society.
(3) The 100 percent increase in the Federal beer tax--this so-called `luxury tax'--has destroyed 31,000 jobs. It has, however, succeeded in preventing people from enjoying this `luxury': after the passage of the tax in 1990, total beer sales suffered the worst decline in 30 years.
(4) As a result of the `luxury tax' on beer, $463,000,000 in wages has been lost in the brewing, wholesaling, and retailing industries. In addition, direct purchases of products needed to make beer, including agricultural products, has fallen by $207,000,000.
(5) The 100 percent increase in the Federal beer tax has not, unfortunately, resulted in a doubling of Federal revenues. To the contrary: the decline in demand, the resultant loss of jobs, and the reduction of direct purchases has cost Federal and State governments hundreds of millions of dollars in lost tax revenues. The `luxury tax' on beer has cost millions more in increased outlays for unemployment compensation and other social services to help those who were put out of work by this ill-conceived tax increase.
(6) Because of the regressive nature of the `luxury tax' on beer, its negative impact on the economy, and its unreliability as a source of Federal income, this `luxury tax' should be repealed.
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