Christian Coalition opposes proposal to repeal drink tax

Members of the group say there are more family-friendly moves that could be made.

By JULIE HAUSERMAN

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 24, 2000

TALLAHASSEE -- Many conservatives haven't met a tax break they didn't like.

But Wednesday, the Christian Coalition blasted a Republican plan to wipe out a state tax on alcoholic drinks, saying it isn't the family-friendly thing to do.

"Cutting the tax on alcohol will only undermine the family structure further," Christian Coalition of Florida deputy director Bob West wrote in a letter to lawmakers.

The per-drink tax, passed in 1990, only applies to drinks sold at restaurants and bars. It adds 10 cents to every ounce of liquor, 10 cents to every 4 ounces of wine, and 4 cents to every 12 ounces of beer. Many restaurants add the tax as a line on customers' bills, but many others have added it permanently to the menu drink price.

For the state, the per-drink tax raises $100-million each year.

With state coffers flush with cash, lawmakers voted to repeal the tax in 1998. But then-Gov. Lawton Chiles vetoed the idea. Last year, the Republican-led Legislature tried again, and Gov. Jeb Bush approved the plan. The tax is being phased out: $32-million last year, $32-million this year, and the rest next year.

Instead of cutting a tax on booze, the Christian Coalition argues, why not raise the homestead exemption on property, or make the sporadic "sales tax holiday" on clothing and other retail products a permanent, annual event?

In his letter to lawmakers, West asked: "Why would you cut this tax and at the same time increase the cost of tuition to state universities and colleges?"

But state Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Palm Harbor, who is sponsoring the bill to cut the per-drink tax, said the tax always has been "discriminatory" because it doesn't apply to alcohol sold outside of restaurants and bars. He said restaurant owners have complained to him for years because the tax poses an accounting headache.

"It was a last-minute tax added in the dark of night to balance a (state) budget 10 years ago, without any hearings," Latvala said.

The Christian Coalition's opposition appeared to have little sway with lawmakers Wednesday. The tax cut passed a Senate committee unanimously.

The Senate Fiscal Resources Committee also approved a measure that would cut the intangible tax Floridians pay on stock and bond investments for the second year in a row, on the way to eventually eliminating the tax altogether.

The bill cuts the rate from $1.50 per $1,000 in investment holdings to $1.

- The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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