Aberdeen Taverns Lament Liquor Tax Hike

Some Aberdeen business owners are unhappy with a coming 3 percent increase in the state sales tax on alcohol.

The General Assembly approved two bills that increase the tax from 6 percent to 9 percent during the session that ended April 11.

“It sucks,” said The Greene Turtle Manager Lance Lader, who is already noticing a change in business. “We haven't had a decrease in sales, but the liquor tax increase has affected people mentally. We see an increase in families dining, but as far as alcohol, people aren't coming out as much during the week.”

“This is terrible, just something else to mark the demise of the economy,” Lader said. “Our customers are definitely not for it at all.”

Working not far from The Greene Turtle, Eagle's Nest Tavern owner Randy Cypher expressed a similar sentiment.

“I heard about it three months ago,” said Cypher. “Since the cigarette tax increase and the ban on indoors public smoking, my sales on cigarettes have halved. If we do that with alcohol, the alcohol industry will be hurt.”

Cypher said he had written a letter to Sen. Barry Glassman, a Churchville Republican, urging a him to oppose the liquor sales tax increase. Glassman voted against the Senate version of the bill but it passed 26-19.

“I think it's going to hurt business—using alcohol to funnel money into their 'charitable crusades',” said Cypher.

By charitable crusades, Cypher refers to school construction and health care for the disabled, who will receive a share of the projected $87 million that new tax will generate for the state.

Cypher expressed that he had no problems helping a worthy cause; he's just heard it all before.

“These politicians aren't keeping their word as far as where the money's going,” Cypher alleged. “Isn't this what the casinos were for?”