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Reason
Reason
J.D. Tuccille

High Liquor Taxes and a Home Distillation Ban Guarantee a Thriving Booze Black Market

In January, police in Alabama arrested a Florida man (yeah, that guy) for allegedly transporting 81 gallons of moonshine. He certainly isn't the only player in that business. Bootlegging has a long and storied history in the United States. In a country that has a love/hate/really love relationship with alcoholic beverages, innovative entrepreneurs seeking to evade high taxes on distilled spirits illegally manufacture the stuff for sale, and the authorities justify a ban on home distillation in the name of collecting those taxes. People also smuggle from low-tax to high-tax states. The result is a game of cat-and-mouse that gave us legendary figures. It even inspired customized smuggling vehicles that inspired NASCAR racing.

A Federal Ban Driven by Perverse Tax Reasoning

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