Video Poker 24/7 - Taxing Drinks Instead of Video Poker

Video Poker 247 - Taxing Drinks Instead of Video Poker

There are several bar owners and restaurateurs who are more than a little upset with Allegheny County at the moment. It seems that the county has decided that it would be in their best interest to put a 10% drink tax on alcoholic beverages to raise some money. However, they aren’t sitting still for this one.

They are represented by a group called Friends Against Counterproductive Taxation, or FACT, and they want the tax eliminated. They say that even if they fail now, they will continue to fight and will get it overturned in November instead.

County Chief Executive Dan Onorato says that they need money to provide funding for the $30 million subsidy of the Port Authority. He is also taxing car rentals to pay for the project. The first payment of the tax is due Monday, but they don’t want to pay. They have taken their case to the courts as they say it is unconstitutional.

Rep. Paul Costa says that they could get the much needed money if they were to legalize video poker. Costa says that video poker would bring in more money than they need and this way they could eliminate the drink tax. He says that video poker would bring in around $45 million, and they only need $30 million for this project.

However, there are many in the state that don’t want video poker legalized and they say that the drink tax will only stop more people from purchasing alcohol. They find it to be a win/win to leave it as is.

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