Jump to content

Allegheny County Alcoholic Beverage Tax

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Allegheny County Alcoholic Beverage Tax is a county tax on retail sale of alcoholic beverages within Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.

The tax, a 10% levy on served alcohol, was passed by the Allegheny County Council and signed into law by Dan Onorato, Allegheny County's Chief Executive on December 4, 2007.[1] On January 1, 2009, the tax rate was reduced to 7%.[1] The tax is collected at the point of sale by restaurants and bars and is collected by Allegheny County Treasurer on a monthly basis.[1] The funds were dedicated to fund the Port Authority of Allegheny County.

The tax encountered significant resistance and spawned an organized advocacy group called Friends Against Counter-Productive Taxation (FACT).[2][3] The organization was able to have a referendum placed on the ballot to lower the drink tax, but it was overturned by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.[4] In 2009, Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl expressed a desire to acquire a portion of this tax for the city's failing pension system, a possibility that Allegheny County officials opposed, citing that the state law authorizing the tax required the money to be directed towards the Port Authority of Allegheny County.[5]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "Allegheny County Alcoholic Beverage Tax Official Rules and Regulations" (PDF). www.alleghenycounty.us. Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-11-13.
  2. ^ Young, Chris (October 25, 2007). "Whiskey Rebellion II". Pittsburgh City Paper.
  3. ^ "Drink Tax Opponents Kick Off "Whiskey Rebellion"". WPXI. June 17, 2008. Archived from the original on 2011-06-07. Retrieved 2009-10-13.
  4. ^ "State Supreme Court bars Allegheny County drink-tax referendums". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. October 3, 2009.
  5. ^ Brandolph, Adam (December 4, 2009). "Pittsburgh mayor wants cut of Allegheny County's 7 percent drink tax". Pittsburgh Tribune Review.[permanent dead link‍]
[edit]
Stub icon

This Pittsburgh-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Allegheny_County_Alcoholic_Beverage_Tax&oldid=1166981513"