A contentious proposal for an alcohol tax in Anchorage hasn’t even officially been scheduled for the April city ballot, but the state liquor industry has already launched a campaign to fight it.
On Wednesday, members of the Alaska Cabaret, Hotel, Restaurant and Retailers Association filed paperwork with the Alaska Public Offices Commission to create a political group to oppose a retail sales tax on alcohol proposed by Anchorage Assembly Chair Dick Traini earlier this month. The filing allows the group, “Anchorage Residents Against Taxes,” to start raising money.
It’s still a question whether the measure has enough Assembly support to make it to the April ballot. The Assembly has to decide by Feb. 3, and it will take eight votes to pass. At the start of Tuesday’s meeting, Assembly member Ernie Hall introduced an amended version of the proposal specifying that revenues would be dedicated to “financing alcohol treatment, emergency transportation and housing programs, including housing programs for chronic inebriates,” which he said was meant to clarify where the money could be spent.
Members of the liquor industry, angered by the prospect of a local sales tax on alcohol, have accused Assembly members of political maneuvering and said the measure lacks a clear action plan. Despite not knowing whether voters will see the tax proposal on the ballot at all, Fox said “the crazy timeline Dick Traini has put on us” left opponents of the tax no other choice but to organize early.
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