Years ago, I bought a contraption designed to separate and concentrate the most volatile components of a liquid mixture.
asserted
I → buy → mixture
I would tell you what I did with it, but I don't want to implicate myself in a federal felony.
asserted
I → tell → felony
Since 1868, it has been illegal for Americans to locate a "distilled spirits plant" in "any dwelling place," an offense currently punishable by a maximum $10,000 fine and up to five years in prison.
asserted
Americans → locate → prison
The federal ban on home distilling is at the center of a case that the Supreme Court recently agreed to hear, which raises a specific constitutional issue but also highlights the absurdity of treating this hobby as a crime.
asserted
which → agree → crime
That policy, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruled last April, cannot be justified as an exercise of the federal government's tax power.
asserted
Court → rule → power
To the contrary, Judge Edith Jones said in the court's opinion, the ban is "an anti-revenue provision that prevents distilled spirits from coming into existence," meaning its effect is "to reduce revenue instead of raising it."
Nor is the provision consistent with "the Supreme Court's explanation of how the federal power of taxation works," Jones wrote.
asserted
Jones → say → taxation
When Congress imposes a tax, the Court explained in 2012, it "leaves an individual with a lawful choice to do or not do a certain act, so long as he is willing to pay a tax levied on that choice."
asserted
he → impose → choice
But in this case, Jones noted, would-be home distillers "have only the choice not to do as they wish or risk fines and imprisonment."
asserted
they → note → fines
The government argued that the ban helps collect liquor taxes by prohibiting a form of production that is difficult to detect.
asserted
that → argue → production
But "Congress cannot prohibit intrastate activity solely because it might produce products hard to tax," Jones said.
uncertain
Jones → prohibit → products
If it could, she warned, there would be "no limit whatsoever" to its tax power.
uncertain
she → warn → power
Under the government's logic, Jones noted, "Congress may criminalize nearly any at-home conduct only because it has the possibility of concealing taxable activity.
uncertain
it → note → activity
Home-based businesses may be forbidden.
uncertain
businesses → base → ?
Remote work may be deemed a crime."
uncertain
work → deem → ?
The Trump administration, which wants the Supreme Court to overturn the 5th Circuit's decision, argues that threatening to imprison home distillers is a "necessary and proper" safeguard against tax evasion.
asserted
threatening → want → evasion
But whatever your take on the constitutional question, that policy is morally indefensible, haphazardly enforced, and inconsistent with the federal government's treatment of wine and beer.
asserted
policy → enforce → wine
In 2014, McNutt received a "Notice of Potential Civil and Criminal Liability" from the Treasury Department, which said it had reason to believe he "may have purchased a still capable of producing alcohol and/or equipment and materials that may be used in the manufacture of a still."
uncertain
that → receive → still
The notice warned that "federal law provides no exemptions for the production of distilled spirits for personal or family use."
asserted
law → warn → use
It added that "unlawful production of distilled spirits is a criminal offense," which it erroneously claimed was "punishable by a fine of up to $500,000" as well as "imprisonment for not more than 5 years."
asserted
it → add → years
Meanwhile, online retailers such as Amazon sell a wide variety of home stills, many of which are explicitly advertised as appliances designed to produce alcoholic beverages such as vodka, gin, brandy, and whiskey.
asserted
many → sell → vodka
Customers could be forgiven for assuming that's legal, especially since federal law has long permitted home wine and beer production "for personal or family use."
uncertain
law → forgive → use
McNutt's lawyers say he "owns a still that he has used to lawfully distill fuel alcohol and seeks to 'tinker around' with beverage spirits."
asserted
he → say → spirits
Another plaintiff, Thomas Cowdrey, "likewise seeks to experiment in creating new beverage spirits, including 'apple pie vodka,' for which he has developed a recipe."
asserted
he → seek → recipe
Because of a law Congress enacted 158 years ago, McNutt and Cowdrey would be felons if they acted on those desires.
asserted
they → enact → desires
It might be time to rethink that policy.
uncertain
It → rethink → policy
The Aporia
