Beer taxes have rarely been doled out fairly. They’ve been used to support war efforts such as the very first beer tax in America, which was leveled to help pay for our Civil War in the 1860s. And while most brewers didn’t mind supporting their country, the fact that other industries were not asked to similarly help out was what led to the first U.S. trade association among brewers. Then there’s the so-called “sin tax” on many luxury goods deemed to be either bad for you or having some moral questionability — at least to the more pious elements of society.

So in a way it comes as no suprise that the European Union announced a 31% increase on the duty for beer and spirits. Proponents say it will add only about one Euro cent to the price of a beer (half-litre size). Critics say it will hurt small breweries. If passed by the 25 member states (it needs to be unanimous) it likely wouldn’t go into effect until 2008 or even 2010, with grace periods.

Some interesting facts about Europe’s beer industry from a Reuter’s report:

Europe’s brewing industry employs 2.6 million people directly or indirectly in 3,000 breweries. Over a third of the breweries are in Germany, where they already face a 3 percent rise in value-added sales tax (VAT) from next year.

But here’s the kicker. There’s no duty whatsoever on wine, because the industry has such enormous political influence. Yeah, that seems fair, doesn’t it?