Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos.

Why am I not surprised that this bill is coming out of Montgomery County.

But, seriously, how much is the beer tax now?

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: democracy just doesn't work.

Sam, you have NO idea what you have unleashed here! Brace for all the MOM/Ehrlich poison that's over on he Sun's talk forums!

"Maryland’s tax on beer of 9 cents per gallon was tied for fifth lowest among the 50 states and Washington, D.C., according to a survey taken about a year ago by the Washington anti-tax group Tax Foundation. Maryland’s tax on wine and spirits ranked 11th and tied for fourth lowest, respectively."

I am fairly curious as to how this compares with our current tobacco tax levels - which have been raised pretty consistently since the stone age.

For comparison's sake, Maryland's gas tax is above 20 percent. I don't think a few extra cents on a pint is going to break anyone here. If this is your whine, I really suggest putting it to better use.

This will be an additional hardship on smaller beer businesses. With the additional fixed cost increases associated with the nationwide hops shortage, there will be dramatic increases already in the cost of your pint, bottle, case, and/or keg. This is just an additional excuse for the MD legislature to avoid making efficiency cuts in the broken system. Megabrewers like Bud will be able to absorb some of this cost and still do fairly well. It doesn't bode well for the little guy.

This actually sounds like an additional excuse for someone to rant about "big government" etc etc...

While it may not break anyone, the point is (for me anyway) that these tax hikes are almost always permanent. Even if we had budget surpluses for the next 10 years it would more than likely never be repealed.

mmmmm...according to the article linked, this tax increase is being used to offset a separate tax repeal.