There wasn’t a drop of beer, wine, or liquor to be found at yesterday’s event to celebrate the impending repeal of the state’s short-lived tax on alcoholic beverages.
A half-dozen Massachusetts liquor and wine store owners gathered at the site of the Boston Tea Party to symbolically pour bottles of wine into Boston Harbor, in anticipation of the 6.25 percent sales tax’s midnight expiration.
In deference to the environment, though, the bottles contained only water.
In November, voters repealed the surcharge, which had been in place for just a year after being promoted by lawmakers as a way to raise money during the recession.
Officials have estimated the repeal will cost the state more than $100 million.
But many shop owners, especially those who do business near the New Hampshire border, have complained of losing more business to the Granite State, which does not have a sales tax.
“I don’t know many taxes that have been repealed in Massachusetts,’’ said Jeff Cirace, who owns V. Cirace and Son Inc., a wine shop in Boston’s North End. Standing on the Congress Street bridge, Cirace poured from a bottle that once held B.R. Cohn cabernet.
At his side Tina Messina, owner of Wine Connextion in North Andover, held up a bottle that was formerly home to Beaulieu Vineyard Reserve Tapestry.
“With a wine like this, you’ll be able to save $1.50 now,’’ Messina said as she dumped her water into Fort Point Channel.
A small group of protesters attempted to have a sobering effect on yesterday’s gathering — they carried signs that read “Alcohol is a drug’’ and “Less taxes = Less lives saved.’’ A portion of the alcohol tax funds addiction treatment programs, and some worry services will be curtailed.
“People don’t quite understand where the money goes,’’ said Samantha Terry, 24, from Winthrop, who said she is living at Meridian House, an East Boston treatment center, as she fights an addiction to prescription pills.
“I spiraled out of control and needed help,’’ Terry said. “This program has given me a better understanding of this disease and helped me get my priorities straight.’’
John McGahan, president of the Gavin Foundation, which helps alcohol and drug addicts recover, organized the protest. He said the future of the state’s 500 in-patient slots for alcoholism treatment is now “a big unknown.’’
“Everything is subject to cuts, but these are people we are talking about, not widgets,’’ McGahan said.
Frank Anzalotti, executive director of the Massachusetts Package Stores Association, noted that public health programs were funded long before the alcohol tax was enacted.
“This was not a necessary tax,’’ he said.
Rick Gordon, a third-generation spirits seller and owner of Gordon’s Fine Wine and Liquors in Waltham, said it is difficult to quantify how much alcoholic-beverage business was lost because of the sales tax.
To avoid paying more, Gordon said, some of his customers got creative. “People would gather together in the neighborhood and make runs up north.’’
Now, however, Massachusetts shop owners say they are expecting 2011 to be more prosperous, especially for those who sell expensive wines.
“A lot of customers have been deferring purchases until the tax came off,’’ said Leonard Rothenberg, president of Federal Wine and Spirits in Boston. “January will be strong.’’
© Copyright 2010 Globe Newspaper Company.
This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php
Five Filters featured site: So, Why is Wikileaks a Good Thing Again?.
Source: "Drug and Alcohol Treatment Centers" via Glen in Google Reader
No comments:
Post a Comment