The truth is, the fight to repeal the alcohol tax is being fought by the alcohol industry, for the alcohol industry. The evidence that this is a special tax break for alcohol is in the donations. The contributions to the repeal of the alcohol tax campaign totals more than $1.2 million – most of this cash came from the alcohol distributors. Derrick Jackson get it: the alcohol tax saves lives.
It may seem ironic that a bottle of zinfandel may help protect a spouse from an abusive partner or that a six-pack of Sam Adams may help liberate a recovering convict from addiction. But without the sales tax, many of these programs will face deep cuts or extinction. This makes the state sales tax on alcohol a painless thing to swallow at the dinner table, and a “no” vote on Question 1 a show of support to fellow citizens struggling with the bottle.
And let’s not forget that unless you’re doing some sort of pre-Apocalypse stocking up of the booze cabinet, the offset in what you spend in gas and time can’t really be saving you much if anything. I think it’s kind of interesting that NH boasts an 8% meals tax.
My wife was making veggie burritos last night, and I stopped in to my local packie on the way home to buy a six pack.
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p>They had a sign on their cash register urging folks to vote Yes on 1, claiming that the excise tax is as much as 40% of the price. Thing is, you can’t get a six pack of beer in that store for under $8.00, so that 40% sure as hell doesn’t apply to that store.
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p>I politely informed the cashier (who is the manager) that I wouldn’t be buying my beer from them because of that sign — you win some and you lose some. Sure, it’s their right to have a sign, but it’s my right to not give ’em the $9 I would have spent on beer.
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p>Package stores ought to do their part too. This idea that they should get a benefit that other retailers don’t get is nonsense.
Holy cow, they surely pulled that number right out of their ass. The excise tax on a six-pack of beer is 6 cents, and on a bottle of wine it’s 11 cents. So unless they’re selling six-packs for like a quarter, well, they’re full of it.
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p>Maybe they’re talking about hard liquor – the excise there is about 81 cents for a standard 750 ml bottle. Maybe they’ve got some really crappy vodka on special for two bucks a bottle. That would be about right. But in general, the excise tax is very low on alcohol, and this “double taxation” thing, as I’ve already argued, is a total shibboleth.
Red herring, maybe?
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p>I always thought that “shibboleth” was something like a cultural “password”– like when the sentries in old WWII movies talk about last year’s World Series in order to identify German spies.
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p>That’s exactly what this “double-taxation” thing is. Adherents of the “AAAGGHHH!!! DON’T TAX ME BRO!!!” party, also known as the “Republican party,” are using “double taxation” in the context of Question 1 as some sort of mantra that they think proves their point without the need for further discussion. But, as I believe I’ve amply demonstrated, it is indeed “empty of real meaning.” Hence, a shibboleth.
from another packie in town. I told the owner why. He’s a recent immigrant and I don’t think he really understood what I was trying to say, but he was thrilled to have my nearly $30 for 12 Sam Adams (for me) and 6 Coronas (for my mom-in-law).
I have a real problem with this tax. Once again, our government is claiming the taxes raised from this will go toward alcohol recovery programs. I know several people who have given up the bottle through Alcoholics Anonymous. A totally FREE program. A very succesful program.
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p>I’m very nervous turning over money to the state so they can run a program like this. What’s going to happen when this money ends up in the general fund like so many other taxes/fees that were supposed to be for a certain program?
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p>Can anyone assure the taxpayers that this money won’t be diverted? Sadly, I don’t think they can.
that ain’t the same thing.
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p>Why do you think it’s appropriate to charge sales tax on OTC cough syrup, on hammers, on vacuum cleaners, on DVDs, on books, on coasters, on oodles of goods… but not alcohol?