PolitiFact tests claim that Tennessee has some of the lowest beer excise taxes in the country
Update: PolitiFact Tennessee took down this post over the weekend, and have since updated and reposted its ruling.
Last week, PolitiFact Tennessee tackled a claim by the Tax Foundation that Tennessee has some of the lowest beer excise taxes in the nation — a claim subsequently spread by other media outlets. Yazoo‘s brewmaster took umbrage to that claim:
@nashvillebiz do your homework! TN has 17% wholesale tax on top of excise tax, giving us the highest beer taxes in the country! @yazoobrew
— Linus Hall (@yazoobrewmaster) March 12, 2012
From PolitiFact:
We found inconsistencies in the Tax Foundation’s map. A footnote says, “Local rates are excluded unless they are statewide and uniform. Alabama and Georgia include statewide local rates.” But we found that standard was not applied to Tennessee, which has a 17-percent wholesale tax on beer that is statewide, uniform and mandatory. Including the revenue it produces would push the state to No. 1 on the Tax Foundation’s rankings, just as it is ranked by the Beer Institute.
Check out the rest of PolitiFact Tennessee’s analysis — it’s pretty interesting, and does a good job of breaking down the various convoluted ways alcohol is taxed in this state.
