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An Ordinance amending the Allegheny County Code of Ordinances, Division 1, entitled "Administrative Code," Article 808.A, "Alcoholic Beverage Taxation," §5-208A.02 in order to reduce the rate of the County's tax on the sale at retail of liquor and malt and brewed beverages within the County, as well as to clarify the permissible uses of revenues raised from the County's alcoholic beverage and rental vehicle taxes.
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WHEREAS, under Act 44 of 2007, the Pennsylvania General Assembly and Governor have empowered Counties of the Second Class to impose a tax on the sale at retail of liquor and malt and brewed beverages within the County in order to generate revenue to support transit; and
WHEREAS, such a tax was enacted in 2007 under the terms of Ordinance No. 54-07, now codified within Article 808A of the Administrative Code of Allegheny County; and
WHEREAS, when enacted, the rate of the County's alcoholic drink tax was set at ten percent (10%), the maximum allowable under the terms of Act 44; and
WHEREAS, through the first quarter of collections, it appears that the 10% tax rate will result in collection of significantly more revenue than is needed to meet the County's obligations in obtaining financial assistance for transit systems by matching state funding at the rate required by Act 44; and
WHEREAS, through the first quarter of collections, it also appears that the current tax rate will result in collections that exceed the amount budgeted by the County for drink tax revenues by as much as 28%; and
WHEREAS, it is therefore the desire of Council to reduce the rate of the County's alcoholic drink tax to five percent (5%), effective July 1, 2008, in order to render the County's collections consistent with the collection amount that was predicted and budgeted when the tax was enacted in December 2007; and
WHEREAS, it is the judgment of Council that it is manifestly unfair from a public policy standpoint to impose a tax relative to the ...
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