The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to consider whether Congress had the constitutional authority to impose a ban on distilling spirits in private homes more than 150 years ago.
Plaintiffs challenging the prohibition on home distilling claim the 1868 law is an antiquated relic of Reconstruction-era politics. They argue that Congress overstepped its taxation powers when it enacted the home distilling ban as part of a tax reform measure designed to curb fraud by commercial distillers.
Government attorneys counter that Congress properly restricted where spirits can be distilled to prevent producers from evading federal excise taxes. They warn that lifting the ban would violate Supreme Court precedent and erode congressional powers.
This is one of the those cases where the regulation is there to help the big corporations by preventing competition, not protecting the little guy.
And so the government can get those tax dollars.
It’s about poisonous alcohol distilling and buildings blowing up.
It’s not. It’s a leftover from prohibition that was never directly addressed. Other countries have legal home distilling and don’t have the issues that big alcohol want you worried about.