Massachusetts voters will decide this November the fate of ballot questions that would repeal last year’s new tax on retail alcohol sales, reduce the sales tax rate from 6.25 percent to 3 percent, and repeal the state’s affordable housing law. Proponents of the measures submitted more than the 11,099 required signatures prior to a deadline earlier this month.
Liquor retailers and distributors in Massachusetts wish to see the alcohol tax repealed, with a return to the prior exempt status for alcohol. However, that would jeopardize hundreds of substance abuse counseling, educational, and treatment programs supported by the $93 million the alcohol tax has brought in during the past fiscal year.
