Washington State Privatization Effects on Crafters

[MtnMann]

Hi all. Just wondering, now that the dust has settled a bit, how smaller dsp's are making out with the privatization laws. Pro's/con's from your viewpoint? Is the new normal not as good/bad as you had feared?

I'm in Oregon and there is talk here of going a similar route, although supposedly learning from WA's mistakes.

[stevenstone]

Consider a complete disruption in retailing. Add to that a complete disruption in the distribution system. Then, go ahead and add a 10% tax on distribution and a 17% tax on retailers on top of the EXISTING highest taxes in the country (20.5% sales tax + $3.77/Liter). As you would guess, the initial implementation was pretty tough to get through.

Fast forward to today and business has started to get better, but it's still not as good as before. So, yes, you should definitely learn from WA mistakes. We have a mess on our hands here. Don't get me wrong, privatization could be a good thing for OR. It all depends on how the laws are written.

One of the main things you'll need to have people understand is that the state of OR will lose money unless taxes are raised. Right now, the state gets to keep the profit and the taxes. When privatized, they would only get to keep the taxes. The profits would obviously go to private business owners.

I can go on and on about this. Give me a call if you have any questions.

Cheers,

Steven

Founder / Head Distiller

Sound Spirits Distiller

206-651-5166

[MtnMann]

Thanks for your thoughts, Steven.

mtn