In Massachusetts we relate to your problem in Connecticut. And the source is the same. It is the governor of New Hampshire and his appointed liquor commissioners.
The cheapest liquor in the nation is across our Massachusetts border where New Hampshire controls all liquor sales within their state. They use their mass buying power to provide consumers with cheap liquor, while also promoting the cheap prices to Massachusetts residents, and the result is a domino effect reaching at least to Connecticut.
During the 2010 midterm elections the alcohol industry held up the cheap New Hampshire prices as the reason for exempting alcohol from the state sales tax in Massachusetts. Voters marginally (52 percent to 48 percent) eliminated the sales tax on alcohol, which left a hole in our budget, cheaper liquor available in our stores, and a tax rate on our liquor that is less than that of products that do not cause harm including helmets and walking canes.
What infuriates me is that the total financial impact from overconsumption of alcohol spread equally to all residents equals hundreds of dollars per resident (almost $2 per drink consumed) in the United States but the Massachusetts alcohol excise tax is so low that it reduces the impact on our residents by only about $10 per resident (2.6 cents per drink). The massive public subsidy to the alcohol industry is sickening but because of the New Hampshire governor, a lot of people are struggling to solve this problem in Massachusetts.
Jason Blanchette
Mass FAIR (Massachusetts For Alcohol Industry Responsibility)
