Many parts of the South, including Georgia, are not exactly tax-friendly to wine drinkers, according to a new state-by-state listing by the Tax Foundation.
The foundation, a Washington D.C. tax think tank, regularly releases U.S. maps detailing various types of state taxes. On Thursday, it released one on state wine excise taxes, which made much of the South look like a regular Taxachusetts.
As of Jan. 1, five of the eight highest wine excess taxes in the country were in the South, led by Kentucky, at the equivalent average of $3.17 a gallon. Georgia was 7th highest, at $1.51 a gallon, the foundation said.
By contrast, traditionally high-tax California’s was 20 cents a gallon. It was 55 cents per gallon in Massachusetts.
The South isn’t a whole lot better for beer drinkers. Tennessee had the highest excise tax rate in the country, at the equivalent of $1.29 per gallon, and Georgia came in 4th, at the equivalent of $1.01, according to the foundation. Six of the eight highest rates were in the South. Wisconsin, where much beer is produced and consumed, had an excise rate of about six cents, the foundation said.
The taxes add up for Georgia. The state took in $190 million in alcohol beverage taxes in 2016 and is expected to top that figure by the end of fiscal 2017, on June 30.
Meanwhile, Georgia has among the lowest cigarette taxes in the country.
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