On Wednesday the City Council voted on a special petition filed by City Councilor Bill Linehan and City Councilor Frank Baker proposing a 2% alcohol tax with the funds going to addiction recovery efforts.
The council voted 10-3 against the proposed tax. Linehan, Baker, and council President Michelle Wu were the votes for it.
Back in 2015, councilors held a hearing on the proposed tax but did not formally bring the petition to council vote due to lack of support. Back in 2010, 6.25 % tax on liquor store sales by the state (Question 1) was repealed by voters with more than 50 percent of the vote.
No surprise, MA Package Stores Association and Massachusetts Restaurant Association were opposed to the new alcohol tax as well.
I think the councilors should be commended for trying to solve the problem of addiction/recovery. I didn’t support this measure myself but the goal is one I think we all support. Hopefully they will fund this issue properly in the 3 Billion dollar city budget. Time to stop throwing money at the school dept. and over-funding that black hole of resources. They are not underfunded–they are horribly inefficient and need to stop subsidizing the role of the parent. Let’s see if next years budget hearings and the people who decide where the $ goes reflect everyone’s stated support for recovery efforts.
The result seems logical as we have just passed a marijuana bill that should create tax revenues that will help fund addiction recovery efforts.