Bars Pay Up: Allegheny County Drink Tax Nets Big BucksPOSTED: 8:33 am EST February 25,
2008 PITTSBURGH -- The drink tax bill came due Monday for everyone who holds a liquor license in Allegheny County, and officials said the tax netted some big bucks for the county.  Check Out the ReportPreliminary figures for January show the county collected about $1.2 million. That also includes money brought in from the new $2 a day car rental tax.County Executive Dan Onorato and the County Council have already said they're looking for alternatives to the controversial drink tax, but in the meantime, bars and restaurants have to cough up 10 percent of their sales.But WTAE Channel 4 Action News reporter Ari Hait found out on Monday that collecting the tax is a chore in itself.The first drink tax payment was due by 5 p.m. Monday. The tax, which went into effect on Jan. 1, is on all poured alcoholic drinks.Of the nearly 700 organizations that had paid the taxes by Saturday, officials said about 30 percent did so incorrectly. Some were math errors, but others filled out the forms wrong or did not fill them out at all, said County Treasurer John Weinstein."This is a prime example right here," Weinstein said of one form. "The gross sales, there's nothing. All they have is the taxable sale. It's not even filled out properly."Weinstein said he's surprised by all the mistakes, but Kevin Joyce of the Pennsylvania Restaurant Association said he's not.Joyce owns the Carlton restaurant downtown and predicted in December there would be problems."We talked early on about there being a potential for problems with everyone not clearly understanding the tax from day one," he said.But Weinstein argues it's a simple form. He said all you have to do is figure out what should be taxed and multiply by 10 percent.The Restaurant Association said it would continue to fight to get the tax repealed. But if it can't do that, officials said they will start a referendum to get the tax on the ballot and let the voters decide if they want a drink tax in Allegheny County this summer. Related Links: More County NewsGet RSS | E-Mail Alerts
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