(WWJ) A group that deals with beer and wine in Michigan is calling for a crackdown on illegal shipments, and many of them, into the state.
The Michigan Beer & Wine Wholesalers Association says nearly one-third of the 1.5 million bottles of alcohol delivered into Michigan from January to September of last year were shipped illegally.
In total, 1,535,616 bottles of alcohol were shipped into Michigan during the first three quarters of 2019, the group says, and it's estimated around 484,101 bottles of wine were illegally shipped into the state during the same period.
The MB &WWA is calling on the Liquor Control Commission and Michigan Attorney General's office to continue investigating complaints and crack down on out-of-state retailers who are responsible for this.
"For years, we've heard anecdotal evidence that cases upon cases of wine were illegally shipped into Michigan every month, but we had no idea it was this rampant," said Spencer Nevins, president of the Michigan Beer & Wine Wholesalers Association, in a statement. "Every time an unlicensed, out-of-state retailer illegally ships alcohol into Michigan, they rob our state of much-needed tax revenue and thumb their nose at the mom and pop retailers playing by the rules and supporting our local communities."
In 2018, the MB &WWA began compiling data on illegal wine shipments flowing into Michigan. Data from two quarters of that year showed more than 1 million bottles of alcohol were shipped into Michigan in just six months and at least 300,000 of those bottles were shipped illegally by out-of-state retailers.
"As we review the data each year it is becoming abundantly clear that out-of-state retailers have no regard for Michigan law and will continue breaking the rules until they're held accountable," Nevins said. "We encourage the Michigan Liquor Control Commission and the Michigan Attorney General's Office to continue investigating each and every complaint and to crack down on these bad actors."
The data were compiled using reports from the Michigan Liquor Control Commission and excise tax data from the state of Michigan.
