Massachusetts Alcohol Sales Tax to Drop at Stroke of Midnight

BOSTON -- Out with the old, in with the new. Or in the case of Massachusetts shoppers, out with the old alcohol sales tax because, as the calendar flips to 2011, the state’s 6.25 percent levy on alcohol sold in stores will expire.

Shoppers weren’t paying the tax long, but long enough in their minds. In 2009, state legislators extended the levy to wine and beer sold in stores in effort to help fund substance abuse programs. But that changed in November when Massachusetts voters turned out to vote in favor of a ballot question eliminating the alcohol sales tax, according to the Boston Globe.

The retail industry argued that the tax hurt sales, especially in areas neighboring New Hampshire which does not have a sales tax. In the run up to the election, the package store industry and beer distributors embarked on an aggressive campaign to repeal the sales tax, outspending those in favor of the tax by a 10-to-1 margin, the news outlet reported.