Pittsburgh Restaurants, Bars Still Trying To Beat Drink TaxMore Than 300 Attend $40 Event In LawrencevillePOSTED: 10:35 pm EST February 11,
2008 PITTSBURGH -- More than 300 people attended a public fundraiser held by a group of restaurant and bar owners to fight Allegheny County's new drink tax on Monday night.Friends Against Counterproductive Taxation (FACT) wants the county to repeal its 10 percent tax on poured alcoholic beverages that went into effect in January.The anti-drink tax rally, called "Celebrate Unity Night and Roll Back The Tax," was held at Church Brew Works on Liberty Avenue in the Lawrenceville section of Pittsburgh.The county passed the new tax to fund its annual subsidy of the Port Authority. Chief Executive Dan Onorato said the only other option was to raise property taxes, and he didn't want to do that.Many of those in attendance said they were competitors at local bars and restaurants but came together to fight the tax that they call unfair.Attendees said they paid $40 to get into the event, which featured music and commentary from local bartenders and even a Guinness world record holder.Angelo Cammarata, 93, who holds the Guinness world record for the world's longest continuous-serving bartender -- 76 years -- doesn't believe the tax will be repealed."I don't believe there's a chance to repeal it. There may be a chance to rescind it," said Cammarata.Toni Frey, who doesn’t work in the hospitality industry, said she was there because she thought the tax was unfair. She said she thinks the drink tax is unfair because it's only in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh and because it's used to fund an unrelated industry, mass transit."You know, the port authority should be able to take care of itself, I feel," said Frey.Attendees said that they're hopeful the tax will go away under political pressures."It may be dumped altogether by the party that wants to be governor, and I'm sure we all know who it is," said Cammarata.Cammarata said that Chief Executive Dan Onorato would have a tough time winning the race for governor while known as the man who instituted a new tax.Funds raised Monday will go toward a lawsuit that's already been filed to repeal the drink tax and to lobbying legislators in Harrisburg to do the same. Related Links: More Allegheny County NewsGet RSS Headlines | Free Desktop Alert Previous Stories:
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