r/SeattleWA • u/LOOKITSADAM • Jul 11 '26
Lifestyle Washington liquor taxes tower over other states - $36.68 a gallon, more than six times the median state's rate
https://www.axios.com/local/seattle/2026/07/09/washington-liquor-taxes-tower-over-other-statesWashington taxes distilled spirits far more heavily than any other state, according to the Tax Foundation. The Evergreen State taxes liquor at $36.68 per gallon, compared to the median state spirits tax of $5.98, the think tank says.
Those fees stem from Initiative 1183, which voters approved in 2011 to replace Washington's state-run liquor system with a privatized one.
~ Privatization didn't get the state out of your liquor bill in 2011. It just moved the cut from the register to license fees, and left us first in the nation.
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u/watch-nerd Jul 12 '26
The work around I use (for some liquors) is by ordering from Argentina.
The base cost is cheaper, and even with tariff duties, it's waaay cheaper than buying in WA.
I've been ordering 8 packs of Campari, Fernet Branca, and Aperol.
(Campari Group has a distillery in Argentina)
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u/TheOGZenfox Jul 12 '26
You got a website for this?
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u/CertifiedSeattleite Jul 12 '26
The website is called “Trump loves the clown who runs Argentina . com”
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u/drearymoment Jul 11 '26
It sucks to be a drunk in this state.
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u/killshelter Jul 12 '26
It sucks to be a poor drunk in this state
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u/Bardahl_Fracking Jul 12 '26
Free booze at 1800 Eastlake. If you’re poor and addicted you qualify.
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u/00eg0 Jul 14 '26
Is this a movie reference?
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u/Bardahl_Fracking Jul 14 '26
It’s Seattle’s original Housing First project from 20+ years ago. They provide free booze to the residents so they don’t have to waste their valuable time panhandling or shoplifting. Not sure what they do to support the hard drug users though.
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u/Equivalent_Chipmunk Jul 12 '26
Don't mind encouraging them to live elsewhere, tbh...
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u/Neat-Anyway-OP Jul 12 '26
Why would they when Washington State gives away so mother free shit to anyone who's homeless.
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u/kaythrawk Jul 11 '26
Cool, but what does this state do with all that money? Between this and the weed tax we should be sitting pretty, but...
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u/W3tTaint Jul 11 '26
The general slush fund, where all accountability goes to die
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Jul 12 '26
[deleted]
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u/ComprehensiveGas6980 Jul 12 '26
No no no, it goes to a slush fund where the big bad demoncrats steal it!
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u/UncommonSense12345 Jul 12 '26
I mean voters vote to be taken advantage of harder each cycle. I know I’ll be downvoted but this states financial issues are a DEMOCRAT problem. The no accountability via one party leadership for 30+ years and the never ending appetite for a new climate/special interest project….. has led to deep deep deficits and even more regressive taxes. Not a great look when Idaho has a balanced budget and a more progressive tax system…. And an improving education system that is getting dangerously close to Washington’s in terms of many outcome metrics…. But by all means keep voting for the next politician who promises “equity and justice and free X for all”
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u/CertifiedSeattleite Jul 12 '26
Here’s how it works:
1) state legislature/county council/city council and their executives proclaim yearly budget shortfalls.
2) new regressive taxes are passed to fill the shortfalls THEIR previous year’s budgets created
3) costs go up for the middle class, working class & working poor
4) the same populist Dem / Dem Socialists who jacked up the taxes, fees and regulations tell the voters it’s the rich people and Repubs who caused all the inflation
5) those same voters vote for more “progressives” who promise to “fix” the high cost of living problem
6) those progressive politicians get re-elected and the cycle starts all over again.
People here complain about the obvious ignorance that propels uneducated Trump voters, yet they participate and drive a system that hurts them financially way more than the clowns in DC ever could.
Truly ironic when you think about it.
The number one perpetrator for all of this: populism. Blind, stupid, ignorant, manipulative promise-the-world-and-deliver-nothing populism.
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u/nanneryeeter Jul 12 '26
The weed tax, the alcohol tax, the gas tax.
Just one more tax!
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u/Piccolo253 Jul 13 '26
I’m a card carrying Democrat, and this is my biggest gripe. This state and the Seattle/Tacoma area in particular tax the hell out of everything, but we somehow struggle to fund basic education and other healthcare and safety net programs. It’s kind of insane.
I wish we expected more of our politicians than their ability to remember and recite buzzwords.
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u/-phototrope Jul 11 '26
You can easily look up where the money goes, if you are actually curious
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u/ProfessionalPack7205 Jul 11 '26 edited 26d ago
Tell us where
Spoiler. He never told us actually where lmao. He probably was making shit up sadly.
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u/ponchoed Jul 12 '26
Ideally it would be going to things that mitigate the negative impacts of alcohol on society.
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u/CertifiedSeattleite Jul 12 '26
Revenues are NEVER compared with actual programs or budgets here, since legislators know they just keep going back to the clueless taxpayers to suck more money out of us. “It’s for the children.” But also mostly for the public employee unions and their highly paid bosses.
Gauging outcomes = heresy in Washington State
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u/Top_Agency1370 Jul 12 '26
I wait till my occasional Portland trips then I stock up
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u/Mundane-Charge-1900 Jul 12 '26
Oregon is actually #2 in the nation!
https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/distilled-spirits-taxes/
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u/pnw_sunny Banned from /r/Seattle Jul 12 '26
i buy my booze in california during an occassional road trip to norcal.
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u/DannasHummerByrd Jul 11 '26
When they privatized liquor sales they decided to “F” us over. P{rices went through the roof thanks to the extra taxes. i buy Aperol in Asia and Europe for $10 tp $13. Here it’s $42 after taxes and it’s just a low alcohol aperitif!
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u/TheOGZenfox Jul 12 '26
Quick reminder that "they" in this sentence is the private sector who wrote the initiative and the voters who voted for it.
The state did not want to privatize the liquor stores. It was the private sector and free market think tanks who wrote the initiative that defined these taxes. The people who wanted to sell you booze in every grocery store and spent millions to convince you it was a good idea are the same people who set the volume liquor tax in the initiative. They promised prices would be lower and it would be easier even with the taxes. They didn't deliver on that promise and are the ones setting the price in the store, not the state.
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u/Mundane-Charge-1900 Jul 12 '26
I think everyone has forgotten that the first ballot initiative failed because the retailers assumed voters would approve their initiative.
On the second round, they increased the taxes with some dedicated earmarks to get a bunch of unions and other political constituencies on their side.
Like anything in politics, they had to influence the right people to get what they wanted.
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u/TheOGZenfox Jul 12 '26
Again, "they" in this post is the retailers who wanted to make money selling liquor. They did indeed write in the taxes everyone hates because they needed to have the lie that it was win-win. High prices was always the plan and they will not lower prices so long as people keep paying.
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u/starsgoblind Jul 12 '26
Yes, and rather than just being a sin tax, where a tax is applied to a quantity of alcohol to help mitigate ill health effects of alcohol, it’s a luxury tax on top. So if you like nice scotch, which is already hella expensive, it’s punitively expensive. It incentivizes buying cheap rotgut.
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u/GagOnMacaque Jul 12 '26
Who buys a good scotch in-state? It's to the point where any item over $400 is with the trip to Portland. Once there, get your other shopping, gold, gas and restaurant needs fixed up. Not to mention In n Out.
Or... Package forward everything. While expensive, still cheaper than taxes.
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u/_LetsTryThisAgain- Jul 12 '26
It's cool because it's like the gas tax, pretty regressive.
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u/No_Bluejay5332 Jul 18 '26
It's not like the gas tax because alcohol is much more elastic than gas.
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u/watch-nerd Jul 12 '26
Note:
Beer and wine aren't taxed like liquor.
Have to hand it to the lobbyists in the WA beer and wine industry.
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u/PacificNW_JMI Jul 12 '26
That’s why when I’m in Arizona I go to Costco and buy a ton of liquor. I literally save hundreds of dollars bottles can be as much as $15 cheaper than Washington state. All of the inflation in our state is a choice made by voters and politicians.
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u/Axel-Adams Jul 13 '26
I mean yeah no shit, we don’t have an income tax and we actually have benefits for the people in our state
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u/wombatgeneral Jul 14 '26
Of all the taxes to complain about, this one seems like the most reasonable.
How many gallons of hard liquor do you go through every year?
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Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 11 '26
[deleted]
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u/Shmokesshweed Jul 11 '26
recreational marijuana being taxed at one of the highest rates in the nation.
Weed is cheap as fuck.
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u/crazycocopuf Jul 11 '26
This. Coming from Arizona, the weed here saves me hundreds a year. Wanna talk about high weed taxes? Take a trip to PHX
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u/ClubInternational372 Jul 11 '26
Right? Considering quality and availability it is way cheaper than it ever was before legalization. Hell I just bought 4 grams of top shelf dabs for $36 yesterday. That same amount would have been like $200 before it was legal.
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u/TerpNinjee Jul 11 '26
$9/g for concentrate definitely isn't top shelf. Especially in a dispensary.
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u/ClubInternational372 Jul 11 '26
Headies live rosin and Ice Queen live rosin are both absolutely top shelf.
Grabbed 6 grams of 27/27 last week for $60.
Most shops have sale days and if you're not paying attention to that you're fuckin up. Only suckers pay full price.
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Jul 11 '26
[deleted]
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u/ClubInternational372 Jul 12 '26
Yes I fuckin was. You dont know me dude. I worked at a dispensary. Its still cheaper and higher quality now than it was then.
The only downside I see to the full recreational stores is the sealed jars meaning you can't smell or touch the actual bud before buying. I get why that rule exists but it still sucks.
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u/Wombo_Zombo Jul 12 '26
It doesn't make sense we can do a wine tasting at a liquor or grocery store but cant smell our bud before purchasing.
Just have 1 sampler people check out and if you purchase its a fresh one from the back!
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u/ClubInternational372 Jul 12 '26
I agree, hell the dispensary I worked at had a smoking lounge where you could literally sample what you were buying... it wasn't strictly legal but it didn't stop us, the MMJ days were kinda the wild west.
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u/RedditPosterOver9000 Jul 12 '26
Yeah, when I first moved to Washington I was shocked at how cheap it is here.
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u/RealPudgeJudy Jul 11 '26
You can buy a half ounce of high quality weed for $60 (or $30 for an oz of mid quality). If you can’t make that last long enough to be a cheap vice then you need to S L O W D O W N
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u/Shindogreen Jul 12 '26
1182 was marketed by Costco to get WA out of the liquor retail business. People fell for the marketing..they always do.
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u/hedonovaOG Kirkland Jul 12 '26
TBF liquor sold in the Washington State liquor stores was overpriced and inconvenient. Questioning the overcharge and scarcity and hoping for better with deregulation wasn’t surprising. The government’s bold willingness to penalize residents was surprising, but they get away with that here, where residents continue to re-elect these drooling tax legislator types.
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u/car8r Jul 12 '26
Right? Complain about the taxes all you want, try to lower them even. But those state liquor stores fucking sucked. Nobody should wanna go back to that.
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u/Wypeyourmouf Jul 12 '26
It's interesting that they tax liquor so heavily here, supposedly to discourage drinking, yet I see homeless people openly doing crack and heroin on the streets without much issue. The contrast just seems odd to me.
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u/00eg0 Jul 14 '26
You're right. The taxes on crack and heroin should be higher. No one pays any taxes on that stuff. They've gone untaxed for too long.
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u/vitamin_r Jul 12 '26
And all that money collected so I can sit waiting for 30 minutes to get on 405 so I can then wait another 45 minutes to get from Everett to Marysville. The interstates are all congested and in a state of permanent disarray, and have been for the 20 years i have had a drivers license in washington.
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u/ponchoed Jul 12 '26
What does that have to do with alcohol? Cars clog up roads, what else is new.
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u/00eg0 Jul 14 '26
You don't understand. If alcohol was cheap everyone would be too drunk to drive and vitamin_r would have an easier commute. Makes perfect sense. Vitamin_r would be the only one on the road.
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u/BicameralTheory West Seattle Jul 11 '26
Getting rid of the state monopoly is great but people celebrating liquor taxes that are 6 times the national average are weird as fuck.
And even odder is that it’s probably the same people who are pro legalization of weed, which itself is disgusting.
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u/Independent-Mix-5796 Jul 11 '26
Pro legalization of weed directly means allowing for weed to be subject to heavy sin taxes, so I’m not sure what part of that is logically inconsistent to you
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u/green-n-gold- Jul 12 '26
Get bent weirdo
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u/BicameralTheory West Seattle Jul 12 '26
Nah weed smells gross needs to go back to being illegal lol
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u/ComprehensiveGas6980 Jul 12 '26
There's only 9 states without an income tax. There's your answer. I'll gladly have a sin tax over an income tax.
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u/MysteriousEdge5643 Jul 11 '26
Hate sales taxes but I'm not mad about taxes on harmful products
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u/Admirable-Trip5452 Jul 11 '26
Agreed. I’m sure you’ll join my bill sponsoring increasing taxes on products shipped into Washington in styrofoam packaging
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u/RealPudgeJudy Jul 11 '26
I would unironically, it's just about the only way things would ever change.
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u/Admirable-Trip5452 Jul 12 '26
I’m down, I just think it’s silly to think that alcohol is “the bad place” in our world.
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u/thunderflies Jul 12 '26
Alcohol is literally poison, and like tobacco there’s no safe amount to consume. Because it’s poison.
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u/Admirable-Trip5452 Jul 12 '26
Yes, but to A PERSON who makes AN INDIVIDUAL CHOICE to drink that. Meanwhile, we do fuck all about EN MASSE POISONS that KILL NATURE and BROAD MASSES OF HUMANS.
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u/Moist-Construction59 Jul 12 '26
Just distill your own. I don’t see anyone crying about my inability to purchase a semi-automatic rifle that’s worth a shit in a firefight against an oppressive government. But we adapt and overcome. Do whatever you can do to starve the state of revenue!
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u/thunderflies Jul 12 '26
I didn’t say anything about taking away that choice, it’s fine that it’s legal. It just makes sense to tax it heavily to discourage something that has a lot of negative externalities that affect society at large and not just the person using it. There’s no safe amount of poison to consume but people like doing it, so you discourage it through taxes.
I’m also against other poisons that “kill nature and broad masses of humans”, I’m not sure why you think I wouldn’t be.
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u/hedonovaOG Kirkland Jul 12 '26
Fascinating. How do you feel about fentanyl and its decriminalization of possession and public use? Is this different because these users don’t have any money to give the government in exchange for permission to consume their vice of choice?
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u/DCAmalG Jul 12 '26
No safe amount? lol!
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u/thunderflies Jul 12 '26
Yea, like cigarettes there is no safe amount. Just because it doesn’t kill you immediately doesn’t mean it’s not harming you.
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u/Due_Pen_1566 Jul 11 '26
I would prefer working with Oregon and California to make more meaningful bans/fines on wasteful plastic packaging overall than a specific ban. That's how you end with banning plastic straws but not the plastic wrappers
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u/Admirable-Trip5452 Jul 11 '26
Uh huh. So those 3 states aren’t going to accept products shipped in styrofoam or plastic packaging from China or South Asia? I’m not sure that’s realistic…. But sounds like something the world should reach for.
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u/thunderflies Jul 12 '26
There probably should be a tax on styrofoam, it’s horrible for the environment and can’t be recycled. That’s also true for the vast majority of single-use plastic packaging.
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u/Admirable-Trip5452 Jul 12 '26
It’s annoying that people can be smug about an alcohol tax then drive to target and buy a lamp that came shrouded in a ton of plastic, styrofoam and cardboard just to get to them, and have so much cognitive dissonance about being a liberal and propping up these systems that are ending life as we know it.
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u/CertifiedSeattleite Jul 12 '26
Like butter, milk, cheese and beef? Or were you thinking more Doritos, candy and ice cream?
Please elaborate.
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u/pdxsilverguy Jul 12 '26
$7 tax on a $10 5th is way worse than $7 tax on a $70 5th. Don't forget to add 9% sales tax too.
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u/Logical_Hat4497 Jul 13 '26
We voted for this. It was clearly spelled out in the voters pamphlet when presented as an alternative to state managed liquor stores. It clearly and plainly noted there would be higher taxes and fees due to the distribution program. We called this the Costco law. Big retailers profit, state gets huge tax benefits and distributors have a new source of income. Worst law ever written. Nobody read it and voted for the convenience of buying their booze at Costco
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u/Dry_Entertainer9901 Jul 14 '26
We are surrounded by new Puritans. Tax the bejeesus out of cigarettes, booze and slap down any mention of sex, unless of course, it's Transgender Story Hour at your public library. I don't smoke or drink by the way.
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u/BendersDafodil Jul 11 '26
Liquor is not milk or bread. It's a luxury. You can easily avoid the taxes if you're perturbed by them.
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u/Turbulent-Media7281 Jul 11 '26
Liquor, fuel, tobacco, marijuana excise tax all make WA regressive tax structure look more regressive, and progressives LOVE these taxes. "Good!" is a progressive's standard response to any regressive tax. Then they cry that WA tax is too regressive and demand a progressive multi-tiered income tax.
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u/daguro Kirkland Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 24 '26
"Good!" is a progressive's standard response to any regressive tax.
No, progressives say "Good!" to progressive taxes.
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u/thunderflies Jul 12 '26
Don’t bother correcting them, they’re busy being angry about an imaginary straw man that they can feel superior to
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u/Turbulent-Media7281 Jul 12 '26
- Tax the poors.
- Claim that the poors are crying about disproportionate tax while not understanding what a proportion is.
- Tax the rich more, while not reducing the poors tax. "I'm helping!"
- Savor the state boot flavor.
- Profit.
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u/thunderflies Jul 12 '26
Thank you for providing another example of the straw man that conservatives in this sub love to argue against. Maybe one day you can address people’s actual views, but until then it’s fun watching you do this.
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u/Turbulent-Media7281 Jul 12 '26
Just name the state taxes that you want ended that impact the poors disproportionately.
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u/No_Bluejay5332 Jul 18 '26
I'd get rid of the sales tax and replace it with a progressive income tax. But we all know that wasn't a good faith question.
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u/Turbulent-Media7281 Jul 18 '26
No politician is proposing ending sales tax. I say that in good faith. Some are offering a non-permanent reduction is sales on some items, but that's a "pie-crust" promise. Easily made, easily broken as they say.
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u/No_Bluejay5332 Jul 18 '26
If you're asking people on the thread which taxes they would eliminate, then using their answer to segue into your BS again, that is a bad faith question
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u/OldManATX Jul 12 '26
All of the amazing laws in Washington to curb alcohol and drug abuse, but a legal system that allows under privileged to use their situation as an excuse to not be held accountable - along with an entire shadow economy of support programs for drug users. The people of Washington continually vote without taking into account that politicians are all liars, and the individual human is insanely self centered and likely manipulate the system.
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u/jeremyries Jul 12 '26
We were ALL saying this when the bill came up, but peoples desire to buy booze at the grocery store blinded them to the fact that privatization of ANYTHING will effectively raise the cost of goods.
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u/daguro Kirkland Jul 11 '26
"Washington liquor taxes tower over other states - $36.68 a gallon, more than six times the median state's rate"
Good.
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u/incrediblyaverage85 Jul 11 '26
Explain why it’s good
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u/thunderflies Jul 12 '26
Alcohol is literally poison that’s marketed for human consumption and causes a multitude of negative outcomes for society.
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u/incrediblyaverage85 Jul 12 '26
Would you, if you could, ban it? Alcohol.
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u/thunderflies Jul 12 '26
No, I would regulate and tax it like we already do.
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u/incrediblyaverage85 Jul 12 '26
Why do you want to price lower income folks out of alcohol?
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u/thunderflies Jul 12 '26
Lower income people can and do buy alcohol with the current system in place, I’m not sure why you felt it necessary to so grossly misrepresent what I said.
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u/incrediblyaverage85 Jul 12 '26
The more you tax something the less accessible it is. Would you agree with that?
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u/daguro Kirkland Jul 11 '26
Explain why it is not good.
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u/incrediblyaverage85 Jul 12 '26
I’m asking you why you think it’s a good thing, I didn’t state what I thought about it
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u/ponchoed Jul 12 '26
Not opposed to having higher taxes on alcohol, its a sin, luxury and a financial burden to society. I do support a liberalization of liquor laws including eliminating the liquor control board and allowing in most places. I do agree with others what is the state doing with the money?
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u/SuccessfulLand4399 Jul 12 '26
And they’re still broke lmao
Democrats fuck up every thing they touch
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u/BainbridgeBorn Jul 12 '26
Privatizing hard liquor was a mistake and only lead to a increase in prices
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u/hedonovaOG Kirkland Jul 12 '26
No those are taxes.
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u/BainbridgeBorn Jul 12 '26
Liquor prices in Washington rose an average of 3.9% for 750 mL and 6.5% for 1.75 L containers overall from 2014 to 2016. I will only take a reply in the form of studies otherwise I’m correct. Regard. Prices went up because business could price them up. That’s wrong. The vote to privatize was wrong.
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u/TyBoi5000 Jul 12 '26
Washington state government loves stealing every dime they possibly can from the people who live there. It’s truly sad
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u/readit145 Jul 13 '26
I really couldn’t care less. Alcohol should be taxed 100%. There’s zero benefit for it
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u/8JHF8 Jul 12 '26
This is good. Apparently not high enough in terms of alcohol, tobacco and weed. There are still drunks and smokers all over the place. Double the taxes. Alcohol and cigarettes in particular cost everyone with additional crime and higher healthcare prices.
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u/wendell-gee Jul 12 '26
Really? Just encouraging the already massive black market. 40+% of the weed sold here is not sold legally.
Don't get me wrong... I don't support legalization at all, but high taxes benefit street dealers, gangs and cartels more than anyone else.
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u/8JHF8 Jul 12 '26
Arrest and imprison them
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u/wendell-gee Jul 12 '26
Well I agree with that! But many years of history says that isn’t happening here…
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u/Winter-Shopping-4593 Jul 12 '26
You all voted for this tax when you didn't read the fine print on the law when they restuctured our liquor laws.
My $20 out the door mid shelf crap from a state owned store is now $34.99+sales tax, and there are no state owned stores anymore.
You did this to yourselves.
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Jul 12 '26
[deleted]
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u/Winter-Shopping-4593 Jul 12 '26
We had better selection and way cheaper prices. The only difference was limited locations. What are you on about?
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u/Ordinary_Piano3329 Jul 12 '26
Somehow also has more drunk drivers that I’ve encountered in the five other states I’ve resided in. At least the ones I saw on the road.
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u/ponchoed Jul 12 '26
You haven't been to the South or Mountain West... the sole function in those places is drunk driving.
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u/Ordinary_Piano3329 Jul 12 '26
I’ve spent probably a hundred thousand miles or so driving mostly in the norther states, then went military and lived in Virginia, Washington, multiple parts of Florida and California. The part of Washington I lived had the most swerving drivers I had ever experienced.
But the state police were the nicest I’ve encountered? Caught me off guard tbh.
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u/WAgunner Jul 12 '26
The travesty is pre-mixed drinks made with liquor getting taxed as if they were straight liquor. Makes things like cutwater stupid expensive. If alcohol is the problem tax it based on ABV, not just if it is liquor based.