PITTSBURGH -- On Friday, Judge Terrence O'Brien denied a request to delay the Allegheny County drink tax from starting on Jan. 1.

On Thursday, lawyers for Friends Against Counterproductive Taxation asked for an injunction to stop the tax from going into effect.

Bar and restaurant owners said the way they charge tax for drinks is computerized and that it would be "impossible" for them to reprogram their computers by Jan. 1.

"Just because the county deems it so doesn't mean it can happen," Kevin Joyce of the Pennsylvania Restaurant Association said on Thursday. "It's not really something that can be done that quickly. This isn't a game. This is about our businesses, our employees, their health insurance, our very survival."

"While many vendors will experience difficulty during the early weeks of collection of this new tax, plaintiffs did not convince me that compliance is, as they allege, 'impossible,'" O'Brien said in the court order.

"It's a 10 percent tax," said county solicitor Mike Wojcik. "If you can do simple math, I think, you can collect the tax. My 7-year-old can multiply by 0.1, so I don't think that argument is very compelling."

Wojcik said on Thursday that the county couldn't afford to wait to implement the tax. He said they've already budgeted for the estimated $100 million in county and state money it would bring in.

"We're low-hanging fruit," said Joyce. "There's a lot of independent operators that make up our industry, and I think the political powers thinks it's easy to pick on us."

Most Allegheny County residents that have voiced their opinions, whether they drink or not, seem to be against the tax.

"I think it should be outlawed," said Pittsburgh resident Jon Domen. "I think it's too quick to establish it, and why are they penalizing people going to have a beer or a glass of wine?"

Allegheny County Chief Executive denied a request by WTAE Channel 4 Action News for an on-camera interview but issued a statement, saying, "Judge O'Brien's decision allows us to hold the line on property taxes here in Allegheny County for the fourth consecutive year."

Joyce predicts the new drink tax will become commonly referred to as the "Onorato tax." He said some restaurants and bars plan to have "Onorato Tax" printed on bar receipts come Tuesday. He also said the legal fight is not over and round two in court comes next month.

Poured drinks will be taxed 10 percent each under the new fee, which is projected to bring in $30 million a year to help fund the county's subsidy of the Port Authority.

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