(WHAS11) - More tax dollars out of your pocket? First a proposal for a big boost in the Kentucky cigarette tax and now the good possibility of higher taxes on alcohol.
Kentucky, the state known around the world for its increasingly popular bourbon, is close to asking you to pay more for it.
The state is in a $459 million shortfall and key lawmakers are close to a deal to boost taxes on cigarettes and alcohol to repair the budget.
At the Party Mart on Brownsboro Road, a case of Bud Light is $18. But if a budget deal in the works in Frankfort is approved, that case of beer will cost at least $1 more.
The two leaders of the house and senate told reporters Friday that plugging the state's $459 million budget hole won't fall just on smokers, but those that drink as well.
The state house speaker and senate president are still hammering out details. But they plan to ask fellow lawmakers to pass a new budget that includes an additional 6% or 9% tax on all store bought alcohol, plus a hike of 30 cents or more for a pack of cigarettes. The plan also calls for a 4% cut in state spending, but no layoffs of state workers.
But the proposal isn't going over big with some republicans:
And it isn't going over big with liquor businesses, who are already lobbying against higher taxes on booze and a bigger boost in the cigarette tax.
So how will this impact Kentucky's growing bourbon industry?
Friday, Mark Hebert spoke with both Bill Samuels of Maker's Mark and Julian Van Winkle of the Old Rip Van Winkle distillery in Louisville. They both called the tax anti-business, especially at a time when Kentucky Bourbon has become a huge tourist draw and sales are through the roof even in the bad economy.
Samuels said it will also stifle an estimated $115 million in improvements planned by most bourbon distilleries at their facilities.
So, what do you think about a possible tax hike on cigarettes and now alcohol?
