Mayor Proposes Upping Per-Drink Liquor Tax to 15%

It's bad enough that Mayor Michael Nutter had the gumption to propose a soft drink tax to bail the city out of its financial woes, but now he is prepared to raise the per-drink liquor tax in an attempt to collect the $60 million requested by the School Reform Commission.

Philly boozehounds have been paying out an extra 10% on their bar tabs since 1994 (which raises $45 million annually), when Nutter was just a lowly councilman that supported the original tax. Bar and restaurant owners aren't thrilled with the new plan, but, ultimately the extra cost would be covered by those people doing the actual drinking. And while the per-drink tax hike has not yet been passed, reports say that there is significant support for the proposal, most notably from Council President Darrell Clarke.

The opposition believes it's time for the state to pony up the cash instead of Nutter passing the cost on to us through property tax hikes and this new booze bill. Nutter believes that the commonwealth will only step in once we show an initiative to raise the money on our own. The bottom line is that we're all about to pay an extra 5% per drink to enjoy our favorite local craft beers and small batch booze.

· City Considers Hiking Liquor Tax [Philly.com]
· All Booze News [~EPHI~]