Proposed Beer Tax Protested

(Columbus, Ohio) Well, the pick-pocketeers in Columbus have mined the tobacco smokers to the endangered level and now they're going after the beer drinkers. Hold on to your wallet. From nbc4i.com:

One of the state's loudest protests occurred at the Statehouse Wednesday. A line of beer trucks dropped off petitions with thousands of signatures in hope of convincing lawmakers not to double the current beer tax.

"We're the fourth-largest beer-producing state in the country," said Kevin Lee of Anheuser-Busch. "We have about 35,000 beer-dependent jobs in Ohio. We project 1,500 of those jobs will be lost."

If passed, Ohio's beer tax would go from 18 cents to 36 cents, making the cost of beer significantly higher than in neighboring states, Ivanic reported. The cost of a case of beer would go up by about $1.

Local distributors and dealers say the higher cost will be passed directly to consumers.

Opponents are upset that beer is targeted and the public won't get a chance to vote on the proposal.