The Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth (DELEG) budget is based in part on two Liquor control bills, HB 6426-27.
These bills allow grocery stores to hand out liquor samples (tightly controlled) and charge a fee to do that.
They also increase penalties on people that drive to Indiana or Ohio to pick up cheaper liquor, often referred to as "bootlegging".
Here's the problem: Michigan has the 10th highest Liquor Excise Tax in the nation, at $10.06 per gallon. To put it in perspective, Indiana's excise tax is only $2.68 per gallon. Rather than looking to lower the tax to avoid bootlegging, the two bills ask to increase the penalty.
So... once again, government creates this strange circular argument of criminalizing legal activity by desperately grabbing at revenue, and further penalizing for the purpose of generating even more revenue.
In other words, if a Michigander drives across the border because of our high taxes, to load up the trunk to save a little money, we'll increase the penalty on them on their way back home.
This is the kind of thinking that causes governments to make criminals out of ordinary citizens. It is my intent to vote no!
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