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Richard Piatt reportingUtah's new tax on beer, is getting the same reception England's tax on tea got in colonial days.
Several kegs of beer emptied, not into but, near the Great Salt Lake helped make a point, for one local brewer. He feels the tax, is unfair.
They call it tyranny--taxation without representation.
But unlike the Boston Tea Party, the folks at this protest were yelling: Give me Liberty or Give Me a Cold One.
Protester: "BEER IS PROOF THAT GOD LOVES US!"
Quoting Benjamin Franklin, a micro-brewer uncorks a message to the Legislature: A protest over a tax hike on beer--with beer.
Protesters: "READY FIRE --- (YELLING) ....."
It's a publicity stunt that's been fermenting for a while--ever since the mostly non-beer drinking Legislature raised Utah's beer tax.
Greg Schirf/Wastach Beers: "WE THINK IT'S, AT THE END OF THE DAY, TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION BEING TYRANNY. WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF REPRESENTATION I THE STATE GOVERNMENT, BUT IT'S STILL A DEMOCRACY. "
The tax Schirf calls 'tyrannical' is about 4-cents a six pack; $12.80 a keg.
That means about 12-million dollars a year extra for Utah--Schirf says 50-thousand of it paid by him.
But lawmakers justify the tax by saying it will fund stiffer Drunk driving enforcement.
Funding for such programs has been lagging because of the state's overall budget problems.
And Senator Michael Waddoups says he has a good reason for pushing the tax hike.
Sen. Michael Waddoups/(R) Taylorsville "STATISTICS SHOW THET 80 PER CENT OF ALL D-U-I ARRESTS ADMIT TO HAVING DRUNK BEER BEFORE THEIR ARREST. THAT'S 80 PER CENT. THAT'S WHERE MOST OF THE MONEY SHOULD COME FROM, BEER DRINKERS."
But, cynicism is alive and well, even 200-plus years after the Boston Tea party: These beer drinkers suspect the tax sprouted from a busty beer icon on billboards--a charge lawmakers deny.
But the brewers are retailiating anyway---with a new lager saluting the First Amendment.
Protester: IT'S GREAT TO BE AN AMERICAN, EVEN IF YOU DO LIVE IN UTAH.
That tax will take effect starting July first.
Other Legislative news today: The Governor signed four bills into law:
One requires criminals to pay restitution equal to five days pay if a crime affects the equipment used for a victim's job.
A resolution that supports technology in classrooms, and a boys and girls club license plate also won the Governor's signature.
And House Bill 81--a study of pay equity for women in Utah is now official.
It was a bill spearheaded by Rowland Hall-Saint Mark's student Susan Sparrow, who aggressively lobbied for the study--both for a class project, and because she believes in the issue.
