Package store owners pleased with vote to repeal liquor tax

LYNN ? Massachusetts residents ready to take advantage of last week’s ballot vote that repealed the state’s sales tax on alcoholic beverages will have to wait until Jan. 1.That’s when the law goes into effect because it marks the start of the new tax year, said Brian McNiff, spokesman for Secretary of State William Galvin.”That tax goes off the books Jan. 1, which avoids the confusion of having it become effective on a certain day in late November or December, whenever the vote is finally certified,” McNiff said Wednesday.Although the state Legislature goes back into session on the first Wednesday in January, it’s unlikely lawmakers will take any action to reverse or amend the vote on ballot Question 1, McNiff said.”I would imagine this law will stand up for a while,” McNiff said. “But it is a law and the Legislature can amend it when they come back into session. They can make changes to it.”When the tax was imposed in 2009, liquor and package store vendors in New Hampshire and Rhode Island applauded the legislation that was forecast to drive more business their way.The sales tax ? on beer, wine and alcohol ? was designed to help offset the state’s budget deficit.Retailers already pay an excise tax under state law. Beer, wine and alcohol were previously exempt from the state’s sales tax.When the law was changed, alcoholic beverage sales were subject to the state’s 6.25 percent sales tax in addition to the state’s 5-cent-per-bottle deposit as required by Massachusetts’ mandatory bottle bill. A six-pack of premium beer than once cost $10 was saddled with 62 cents in additional state tax and 30 cents in deposit fees.”I’ve been riding the crest up and down. When I pay my taxes to this great state, my revenue will be a little bit off this year. Business went down after the change,” said Phil Barbanti, owner of Guy’s Liquors in Saugus. “They keep trying to compare us to New Hampshire, which doesn’t have a bottle bill or a sales tax. We can’t compete with that. I’ve been here 30 years and now I’m just trying to survive.”Cliff Ansara, owner of Lynnway Liquors, explained that his customers are the real beneficiaries of the law change. “I’m extremely pleased with the results of the vote. I think the economy needs a good boost,” he said. “Any money that goes back to the consumer is a good thing, even if it’s only enough to buy a bottle of wine.”Ansara said the repeal of the sales tax on alcohol gives residents a reason to stay at home when they shop for alcohol.”What it means for the consumer is one less trip to New Hampshire,” he said. “In that sense, the consumers are the winners.”Ansara said state legislators may not attempt to resurrect the sales tax on alcohol, but he worries about other threats to his business.Supermarkets with dozens of stores in the same retail area can cannot all sell beer and wine in Massachusetts because state law limits to three the number of liquor licenses that any owner or entity can hold.”The supermarkets want to remove that limit on licenses,” said Ansara, whose family owns and operates three liquor stores.”That would be the end of package stores as we know them,” he said.