The U.S. beverage and alcohol industry as a whole accounts for $475 billion in economic activity per year, with about a quarter of that ($110B or so) being wages and benefits for over 4.5 million jobs nationally. Of that huge $475 billion, the distilled spirits industry accounts for about $150 billion, or 31 percent. This percentage fluctuates every year, by a few percentage points, but usually hovers in the 31 percentile average. Beyond wages and benefits though, the distilled spirits industry also adds about $10.5 billion to state and local tax municipalities, which is almost half of the overall industry’s contributions. That’s just in sales taxes, transportation taxes, etc. The industry also contributed a further $50 billion in corporate revenue taxes to state and local governments, about $20 billion of which was from distilled spirits. These latter numbers are largely due to the disproportionately high taxes charged for distilled spirits versus other alcoholic drinks. Standardizing for alcohol content, the tax burden per proof gallon is about triple that of wine. The tax burden per proof gallon for beer is about $624 and for wine is about $4.67. Distilled spirits are about $13.50. All of these economic contributions are just for the day-to- day operations of the distilled spirits industry. They do not take into account the donations to national organizations, community outreach, and disaster relief efforts that distillers and breweries also undertake during the year. The alcohol industry and the distilled spirits industry are a very large part of the American economy and contribute greatly to our nation on the whole.
