LIQUOR BOARD Flexible pricing considered

The liquor control board mulls giving stores pricing flexibility.
HARRISBURG (AP) -- The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board is considering whether to allow individual state liquor stores to set their own prices on wine and spirits.
Flexible or variable pricing would enable stores located near the state's borders to compete with private liquor stores in other states, particularly around Philadelphia, where shoppers often travel to New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland for cheaper prices, according to board chairman Jonathan Newman.
While Newman favors the change, board member P.J. Stapleton of Indiana County does not. Stapleton said variable pricing could lead to higher priced liquor and wine in the western part of the state, where competition from border states is not as strong.
Newman said variable pricing could benefit all regions of the state.
Uniform since 1933
Pennsylvania has had uniform pricing since Prohibition ended in 1933, meaning a bottle of Absolut vodka costs the same, for example, in all of Pennsylvania's liquor stores.
Legislation to change to variable pricing is expected to be introduced soon in the state House of Representatives.
Kevin Joyce, owner of The Carlton restaurant in Pittsburgh, said he is concerned that the change could lead to higher prices for restaurants and customers in western Pennsylvania to make up for cheaper prices in the Philadelphia area.
"All products involving wine and spirits should be on a level playing field and handled in the same way," he said.
Joyce said wines and spirits are generally more costly to begin with in Pennsylvania than other states because of the state's taxing structure. For instance, every bottle of wine or liquor still has an 18 percent tax tacked on that was supposed to be a temporary way to raise money to rebuild Johnstown after the 1936 flood.
Joyce said he fears flexible pricing could lead the LCB to increase the price of some products to raise money for the state.
"Variable pricing could be very dangerous," he said.