Alcoholic-drink sales will be taxed 10%

A 13-page guideline has been mailed to more than 1,900 licensed liquor places.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A new tax could bring in more money than Allegheny County needs to subsidize public transit, several restaurateurs said.

The 10 percent tax on alcoholic drinks sold at bars and restaurants takes effect Jan. 1. County Executive Dan Onorato, who proposed the tax, said the county used Philadelphia as a guide to come up with revenue estimates. Philadelphia, which has had a similar tax since 1994, collected about $40 million from the tax this year.

“There is no question about it; they are going to raise way more than the $30 million they said they needed,” said Ned Sokoloff, president and CEO of Specialty Group, a restaurant services firm based in Ross Township, just north of Pittsburgh.

Critics also say Onorato did not have to seek the maximum tax since the county expects to receive $4 million to $6 million annually from a $2-per-day car rental tax, which takes effect next month.

Onorato, who also proposed car rental tax, said he expects to collect $25 million to $30 million from the drink tax but will be happy if more is generated.

In an effort to clear up any confusion from what drinks should be taxed, county Treasurer John Weinstein mailed a 13-page guideline this week to more than 1,900 licensed liquor establishments.

“I’m glad they did something, so at least we have some kind of direction,” said Thomas Barry, who owns Barry’s Public House in the city. “It doesn’t ease the pain of a 10 percent tax.”

The tax applies to six packs of beer bought from taverns, as well as alcohol at open and cash bars at wedding receptions, one-day festivals, parties where a caterer holds a liquor license and clubs that charge patrons at the door for access to an open bar. Alcohol bought at state-run stores or cases of beer from beer distributors are exempt.

Restaurateurs call this discriminatory and say the tax, which has to be.