Beer’s Biggest Cost is Taxes?

Hops, malted barley, yeast and water aren’t the only ingredients inside beer. Don’t forget taxes, which could account for up to 45 percent of the cost.

At least according to the Beer Institute, the beer industry’s trade association. The institute claims that 36 percent of the retail cost for consumers of every beer goes toward the federal and state business taxes paid by brewers, distributors and retailers, according to CNBC. Another 5 percent goes toward paying federal and state excise taxes and 4 percent for sales, wholesale, hotel, over-the-bar and local excise taxes.

So does that mean abstaining from beer is a form of tax avoidance?