Chicago bar owners say alcohol tax hike will kill business

BY TINA SFONDELES, Chicago Sun Times

The usually tipsy pre-Bears game crowd at Butch McGuire’s on Division Street looked a bit different Sunday at a roundtable talk of a proposal that could increase Cook County’s alcohol tax by 50 percent.

A vote by the Cook County Board could come as soon as Monday and would raise the tax on beer from 6 cents per gallon to 9 cents per gallon.

Seated with small business owners and tax opponents, Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) said the increase is not a “budget buster,” and he hopes commissioners can come up with a different solution.

If approved, the proposal would mark the fourth alcohol tax hike since 2005.

“It would be my argument that the county may need to look a little closer at those opportunities [cuts] rather than raising those liquor taxes,” Reilly said. “I don’t know how this will be resolved. I’m not advocating a specific solution, perhaps it’s a whittled down tax increase or a blended approach where they find some additional cuts, but I understand this is amounting to about $11 million annually.”

To read more, visit:  http://www.suntimes.com/news/8812752-418/bar-owners-say-alcohol-tax-hike-will-kill-business.html

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