LAist: Smirnoff Ice & Other Malt Drinks Targeted for Tax Hike in LA Times Alcohol Industry Biased Article

GPTERRY

Thu, 16 Aug 2007 11:17:27 -0800

if "Alcopop's" are an alcoholic drink (hello) why shouldnt they be taxed like other alcoholic drinks. My nephew is one of the ones fighting for this, and while a tax is not the best way to discourage drinking (hey maybe only 2 6packs instead of 3) then retail outlets need to better enforce the laws already in place to keep them from buying and new ones should be passed to make adults who buy for them (for other than consumption in their own home where they can control the outcome, at least somewhat) accountable for their actions and the actions of the teens that they "helped" (or to be politically correct, "enabled") or maybe change the packaging to standout so it doesnt look like a soda/tea can, IE: no fancy colors, big logo to identify as alcoholic, etc. personally, I am proud that he has risen above peer-pressure and teen stupidity and is making a stand, especially as it is so unpopular amongst his fellow students, but that is what a "leader" is supposed to do, to help the majority of people, yes even sometimes against their will, or who think "I can't make a difference, so why try?", or do some of you think it is ok to drive drunk, no license, hey why not do away with speed limits altogether. Yes some laws are totally with out merit, but you have to use what's in place, until you are in the position to make bigger changes. Terrance Timmons

guest

Wed, 15 Aug 2007 15:16:50 -0800

The problem and reason they changed the tax structure on RTD beverages is that a number of them were deriving more than legally allowed amount of ethanol from their spirit based flavorings. That's a big no-no and something that was making non-RTD involved brewers furious.

g

Wed, 15 Aug 2007 14:07:55 -0800

This will obviously do nothing to discourage teen drinking.

AlPl

Wed, 15 Aug 2007 13:48:43 -0800

Random anonymous guest, Calling a beer-derived beverage a distilled spirit for the purposes of charging an extra 25 cents a bottle is as monstrously dumb as calling a skateboard a car so you can charge kids a nickel a month for insurance to dissuade them from riding in your neighborhood.

Johnny

Wed, 15 Aug 2007 12:06:01 -0800

Ahhhh... politicians don't you love the way they think.

Mando

Wed, 15 Aug 2007 11:12:37 -0800

Charge straight dudes extra for these things. No man should be drinkin no "alcopops". Use that money to subsidize an alcopop discount for slutty chicks.

guest

Wed, 15 Aug 2007 10:37:11 -0800

Well, yes the LA times didnt use the best quotes, but they did the issue across, thats what we intended to do, these drinks are targeted to us as young people. The tax hike may or may not decrease the access to young people, but this is just the first step, of many more to come on this issue.

AlPl

Wed, 15 Aug 2007 09:09:22 -0800

It's actually kind of interesting. It would be a lot cheaper and easier (and quite possibly tastier) for Smirnoff et al to make these drinks with spirits and a bit of soda. They currently go through a lot of effort to make a weird flavorless beer solution that they then sweeten just to get around this tax. They're currently correctly classified in a stupid system that cares not how much alcohol is in a fluid, but whether the alcohol has ever seen a still.