State Rep. Natalie Mihalek says if state liquor stores are privatized, repatriated sales from shoppers who now go out of state to buy their liquor will more than make up for any revenue loss. That claim is hogwash. Delaware taxes a bottle of Jack Daniels at 74 cents, vs. the $3.81 tax that gets built into the price in Pennsylvania. Until that significant difference is narrowed, people will not stop going out of state to buy alcohol, regardless of who is operating the stores.
I don’t particularly enjoy doing business with the state to buy alcohol, but like it or not, the PLCB is a cash cow. Will Mihalek be voting to raise other taxes to make up the difference? Or can we look forward to education funding dropping even further?
Mark Wilkins
McCandless