A proposal by two Boston city councilors would place a 2% tax on all alcohol served in the city to raise money to fight the state’s opioid epidemic.
Political leadership
A year after the proposal was met with stiff opposition, Boston City Councilors Bill Linehan and Frank Baker are back with another attempt to raise the price of alcohol in Boston.
Additional revenue
In a recently filed petition, the councilors announced they will reintroduce their proposal for a special 2% tax on all alcohol sold in Boston, in hopes of raising more than $20 million in additional local revenue per year.
The councilors’ cause, increasing resources to fight the state’s burgeoning opioid epidemic as well as alcoholism, is universally applauded. But the councilors’ method of taxing an already regulated good has prompted criticism from the hospitality industry.