Data: Tax Foundation; Map: Alex Fitzpatrick/Axios. Note: For off-premise sales of out-of-state 4.7% ABV beer sold in 12 oz. containers
If you crack open a beer in Portland this holiday weekend, you paid among the lowest taxes in the country for that brewed beverage.
By the numbers: Oregonians pay just $0.08 per gallon, behind only Wyoming ($0.02), Missouri ($0.06) and Wisconsin ($0.07).
Tennessee (about $1.29 per gallon), Alaska ($1.07) and Hawai'i ($0.93) have the highest overall state taxes on beer, per an analysis by the Tax Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank.
Between the lines: Some states tax beer differently based on its strength, the size of the container, where it's purchased, and other factors.
Using a standardized unit allows for better cross-state comparisons.
Context: There's a separate federal tax on beer ranging from about $0.11 per gallon on small U.S. brewers' initial output to about $0.58 per gallon on foreign-made suds, the group notes.
Some localities also impose their taxes on beer.
What they're saying: Federal and state beer taxes "are often levied on the manufacturer, wholesaler, or retailer," write the Tax Foundation's Jacob Macumber-Rosin and Adam Hoffer, with the tax burden "baked into the final retail price."
"The tax burden accounts for more of the final price of beer than labor and materials combined," the pair add.