Concord Establishments Pleased by Hassan's Beer Tax Veto Threat

Granite State beer brewers and distributors weren’t the only ones pleased with the announcement that Gov. Maggie Hassan, D-Exeter, would veto a 33 percent increase in the state’s beer tax, if legislators approved the proposal.

Local restaurateurs in Concord were also happy to hear the news.

Hassan made the announcement on Jan. 16, at a short press availability after meeting with the Executive Council, saying she felt it would impact the economy at a time when brewers were important employers in the state.

The tax – a 10-cent per gallon hike onto the 30-cents per gallon already collected – would have raised more than $3 million and been used on prevention and treatment programs as well as new state employees to implement the programs.

Both Andy Sanborn, the co-owner of The Draft, and Brian Shea, the owner of The Barley House, said they were pleased to hear that she was committed to vetoing the proposal.

“I agree with the governor,” Shea said. “It’s not the time to do something like that.”

Shea noted that if approved, depending on how the wholesalers handled the new taxes, the costs would be passed on, in some way, to the bars and restaurants, and ultimately, the consumer. He said that right now, commodity prices are nailing businesses with higher costs. The taxes, Shea said, might just be a blip, but combined with everything else, it drives up the cost of doing business and “we have to cover our costs.”

Sanborn agreed.

“In the past month, the mayor has raised (commercial) property taxes 60 percent, health insurance costs are up 50 percent, vegetable costs up 100 percent … they've doubled because of the freezing. How much more can a business absorb without passing it onto the customers?” he asked. “I think the customers are paying enough. I think we ought to find a way to cut costs, versus adding costs.”

The exact amount the tax could potentially have been passed onto customers isn’t quite known because it would depend on the type of beer and how much of the tax was passed onto restaurants. Shea and Sanborn estimated that it could be a few cents to as much as a dime per pint glass or possibly more.

Shea said that if it were a small amount, “I might eat it” after looking at what the competition was charging. If it was more, “I might look at an increase.”

Sanborn, who is also a state senator, representing Bedford and other communities in the southwestern part of the state, said he hoped that this move by Hassan would be a trend.

“I hope the governor recognizes that raising any taxes, fines, fees, penalties, or assessments, negatively affect our economy,” he said. “She should work to try and force government to live within its means versus searching for ways to tax the people and give an inefficient government more money at a time when it doesn’t need it.”

While Sanborn will continue his efforts to do what he thinks is best for customers and businesses at the Statehouse, Shea is back on the board of the New Hampshire Lodging and Restaurant Association, which is focused on a lot of issues, including health care. He said major changes are coming in 2014 but this year is the year that a lot of the basis of the costs will be recorded by the government. Those costs have not yet been determined, he said.

“I think there are still a lot of question marks out there for businesses my size and bigger,” Shea said.