Written for the High Plains Journal by Trent Loos.
Dec 27, 2023
I would love to start off 2024 with a tremendous amount of enthusiasm and proclaim that we’re certainly happy to get that one behind us, but in all honesty, I just can’t. The New Year is going to bring about challenges for us that we have only read about in history. I share this information not to put a damper on your celebration but rather to prepare you now for the rough seas ahead. With that said, I have been thinking quite a bit lately that, as farmers, we may need to head into an era that looks something like the moonshiner days. When I actually researched my thoughts about what happened in history, I got a lot more than I ever dreamed.
I would assume that most folks, like myself, think of the moonshiners hay day happening during the era of prohibition as recent as the 1920’s. However, we must expand our history to the Whiskey Rebellion that took place because of a 1791 liquor tax that Congress imposed on farmers to pay for the expenses of the Revolutionary War. In 1794, the farmers of Western PA, who we are told were distilling whiskey because market access was tough for them in all farm products, turned to an armed revolt against the government.
In fact, History.gov reports it this way:
For many reasons, farmers and distillers who lived on the western frontier found the tax excessive and resorted to harassment of federal tax collectors. By 1794 hostilities escalated to the level of organized, armed resistance by several thousand rebels who marched on Pittsburgh.
President George Washington personally led an army of more than 13,000 militiamen from other states over the Allegheny Mountains to confront the rebels. In the face of that overwhelming force, the uprising collapsed and the federal government proved that it would enforce laws enacted by Congress.
The successful suppression of the Whiskey Rebellion helped to confirm the supremacy of federal law in the early United States and the right of Congress to levy and collect taxes on a nationwide basis. “Liberty and no excise” was a popular rallying cry of the people who opposed the tax on distilled spirits.
We often endearingly refer to “our founding fathers” and their efforts to curtail an overbearing government by writing the U.S. Constitution for “We the People?” As a quick reminder, the U.S. Constitution had just been ratified in 1789, only 2 years prior to this excessive taxation of the people. What’s even more interesting is how the tax was implemented:
But protests against the new tax began immediately, arguing that the tax was unfair to small producers. Under the new law, large producers paid the tax annually at a rate of six cents per gallon, and the more they produced, the further the tax breaks. Small producers, however, were stuck with paying nine cents per gallon in taxes. Farmers took further issue because only cash would be accepted for tax payment.
Fast forward to today, no matter where you stand on alcohol consumption you can see the overbearing government is always involved. In fact, the same argument can be made for raw milk, or quite honestly most every farm product sold today. You literally can not sell finished products without a permit or some government oversight. Oh, but while the government is telling you it is for the protection of the consumer, I don’t buy that for a minute; it is all about collecting another tax and being in the middle of your business.
Prior to writing this, I thought you could legally distill moonshine as long as you didn’t sell it, but I was WRONG. The Federal Law is clear that you may own a distilling unit as long as you use it lawfully. No alcohol for personal consumption unless you purchase a very spendy license and pay a hefty tax. Interestingly “while individuals of legal drinking age may produce wine or beer at home for personal or family use, federal law strictly prohibits individuals from producing distilled spirits at home (see 26 United States Code (U.S.C.) 5042(a)(2) and 5053(e)).”
So why the difference? My opinion is that distilling farm products could easily create ethanol that could be used as a personal energy source or even be sold or traded. In today’s world, that flies in the face of the massive lobbying arm of the petroleum industry. While I fully support the potential for all energy sources, it is clear to me the struggle for “liberty and no excise” will be a constant battle whether it is 1794 or 2024. Cheers to the opportunity each of us has in the coming year to band together and fight for the country we want to create for future generations!
Although I was aware of distilling laws, I didn't take the thought much further. I'm really not sure why I hadn't - being skeptical and curious is in my blood. Perhaps I didn't because I wasn't planning on making moonshine anytime soon. :) I'm glad you brought this consideration of taxing and regulation to light because regardless of the product, the impact is still important to us all. I recall a conversation I had with a local, small-town rural Iowa orchard owner a few months back who couldn't sell her apples because she had not received the official government ok to do so. They're apples! 🍎 - Ahhh, but they are more than just apples.... or moonshine.... or raw milk.
Very true!!