Posted on 10/21/2011 8:04:42 AM PDT by jakerobins
For decades, Jack Daniel's whiskey has celebrated its small Tennessee hometown of Lynchburg with folksy, black-and-white advertisements urging folks to slow down and have a sip.
Now local officials want the maker of the world's top-selling whiskey to pay a bigger bar tab as they struggle with their budget. How does up to $5 million sound?
A measure approved by the Moore County Council asks the Tennessee legislature to authorize a local referendum on whether the distillery should pay that much in new taxes on the 500,000 barrels it fills with whiskey each year.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
Another iconic American manufacturer — Harley-Davidson — threatened to move it’s final assembly operations out of York, PA when the state officials started talking about a major real estate tax hike. Former Gov. Rendell backed off and the plant stayed — for the time being.
Frankly, I think they are on their way out. Harley will eventually build more modern facilities in a right-to-work state. (They’ve already done this for Sportsters & Softails. All that’s left in York is the heavy-weight bikes.) I don’t think that they were really ready to make good on their threat this time around. The next time the state, county or city come knocking for a tax increase I expect that they will be ‘gone’.
Mr Rogers has this a little backasswards. As I see it the success of the town " ... is due in no small measure because they [Jack Daniels] have marketed our town and people successfully,"
Now, if Lynchburg had paid for advertising that Jack Daniels was a fine whiskey, they might have a point. But as I recall you cannot even BUY Jack Daniels in Lynchburg. Jack Daniels' advertising has increased the value of Lynchburg as a tourist attraction, not the other way around.
Gives a whole new dimension to the shot heard around the world.
Southern Indiana has lots of limestone. I’m sure we could find a stream for them to use.
Is that where Knob Creek is made ?
My personal favorite.
This “logic” sounds alot like Elizabeth Warren to me. That we need to spread the wealth because they used the roads of the town. I don’t understand how these libs come up with these convaluted idiotic ideas!
If you are ever in the area, take the tour. It is fascinating. Basically an almost 200 year story of their ongoing battle with “the Revenuers”.
And the folks in Lynchburg must know their history. The distillery has moved twice before (once to North Alabama, once to St. Louis), trying to stay ahead of state-by-state prohibition laws. I’m sure they can pick up and leave again if you force the issue.
Yeah - I know you're right.
I would just like to see them plant a seed of uncertainty in the minds of the locals.
Can you imagine the uproar against these taxers if the locals thought there was even a possibility the distillery might move some, or all, of the business, jobs and tax money elsewhere?
Knob Creek is made by Jim Beam at their Clermont distillery, about twenty miles from here. Maker’s Mark is a few miles closer to me, and the Heaven Hill distillery is about thirty miles away.
Depends on whether it runs through the same kind of limestone as the JD site.
“water of a similar nature”
Colorado mountain fresh water.
No it has to be EXTREMELY Hard(and have a HIGH Iron level) AND is has to be EXTREMELY plentiful.
Your points are well understood here. Companies in order to survive have to make a profit. To continually have some Parasites suck money from this will collapse all.
A good example of this General Obama Motors fight with Chrysler. Hammer & nail.
Yesterday on FBN the CEO of the Chicago Board of Trade told Ms. Willis that if the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois would raise their taxes he was ready to move the entire operations to a less taxing state. He has already been approached by Governors from other states, mainly Rick Scott of my Florida.
Be it known, a Right to work state and also one with NO INCOME TAX.
CBOT & CBOE bring in on down!
I don’t think I have ever had harder water than here. Plentiful? Las Vegas fills their swimming pools with it.
What Jack Daniels would do in that situation — I bet — is create an expanded visitors center in front of their aging/warehousing operation. Move the distilling (and the bulk of the employees) elsewhere. All you’ll have left is Greeters, a few Traffic Managers and Tow-motor operators. Any surplus grounds will not be needed and will be sold off to lessen their tax liability.
There was a bourbon distillery a few miles from my house (Michters). It shut down, but the ricks (?) remained along with the visiting center for a few years. Now it’s totally gone.
Good points.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.