Buying Wine on The Internet in Every State

[Jerry D Mead]

Point to Jason...if not the game. I forgot about "redneck" Florida and its outrageous additional tax on on-premise accounts, over and above the already ridiculously high state tax paid by the wholesalers and mark-ed up down the line.

It's off on a different tangent, but all liquor taxes should be collected and paid by the retailer and not the wholesaler...and for two reasons: (sorry to propose an additional bookkeeping burden on all you retailers) 1. It would save one mark-up for the public. When the wholesaler pays the tax it is incorporated into the price and marked up 25% or whatever, right along with the value of the product. Ditto for the taxes the producer/importer pays, except they get marked-up at least twice. So consumers would save a ton, and the goods would be a lot cheaper if the taxes, state and federal, were put on at the back end rather than the front. 2. And it would allow the merchant to show the true price of the product with and without the taxes. If people actually knew what portion of every bottle price we pay is taxes, we just might get some backlash. It's just like tax withholding...the government not only wants its money instantly but knows people don't notice as much how much they're paying if they never hold it in their hands. That's why you always hear small business people scream louder about taxes...because they have to write a check for them every quarter...they had the money and had to pay it so they're aware of the amount.

I'm not sympathetic the government keeping the criminal element out of the liquor business...the government put the gangsters into the alcohol business in the first place...just as they're doing now with the recreational drug industry. Don't get me started on that one.

Florida's on-premise tax (which you are no doubt aware has a good chance of being phased out thanks to a bill sponsored by the Florida Restaurant Assoc that has flown through the house and that apparently Gov. Bush would sign if it passes the senate), does put a different spin on things in your state.

But concerns that if a licensed retailer buys from other licensed retailers because he can get a better price than that offered by his wholesaler, that beer and wine licensees might start selling hard spirits or other products for which they aren't licensed simply makes no sense...they couldn't get away with it anymore than a totally unlicensed premise could get away with starting to sell liquor. If nothing else, his competitors would snitch on him...and probably his wholesaler!

And when you get rid of your unique on-premise tax, there won't be any justification for the restriction in Florida that I can really see.

Curmy The Free Trader