Law Offices of John P. Connell, P.C.: On February 5, 2014, newly elected City Council President Bill Linehan filed a home rule petition for a law that would impose a 6.25% sales tax on alcoholic beverages purchased in Boston package stores. The revenue generated from this proposed tax would be used to fund prevention and treatment programs for substance abuse in the City of Boston.
This petition would cause Boston to be the first city in Massachusetts to tax the sale of alcoholic beverages. Accordingly, this petition raises concern amongst Boston retailers, who reportedly worry that customers will travel to neighboring towns and limit their purchases only to those locations. Indeed, similar consumer behavior has been reported among Connecticut retailers, whose customers often cross borders to buy non-taxed alcohol in Massachusetts and Rhode Island package stores.
It is widely claimed that Connecticut’s tax on alcoholic beverages negatively affects the state’s ability to compete with other New England retailers. In fact, Connecticut State Senator Kevin Witkos has proposed an experiment to investigate the affect of Connecticut’s tax on alcoholic beverages on the state’s ability to compete. The plan is to allow Connecticut package stores to sell alcoholic beverages tax-free for six weeks between November 2014 and January 2015 and then to assess whether or not a tax exemption may be warranted.
This initiative could provide insight on the petition commenced by Bill Linehan in the City of Boston. If city council approves this petition and Mayor Marty Walsh signs off, it will advance to the state legislature. The petition is one of many under consideration that would have an affect on the Boston’s current licensing laws.
CONTRIBUTED BY COURTNEY N. McGEE
© Law Offices of John P. Connell, P.C., 2014.