At happy hour tonight, I had a vodka martini. My liquor of choice? 1681 Penn vodka crafted by Philadelphia Distilling. Despite being distilled in the Commonwealth, 1681 Penn has only recently landed in state stores. In Pennsylvania, you can’t buy liquor outside of state stores. Or wine. Or have wine shipped to you. While our…
Last night, I went out to eat with friends and family. We had a mix of drinks, dinners and desserts and split the final bill. I know the final bill total – close to $200 – and I know the tip amount. I did not once look at the tax on the bill. And I’m…
At a time when most states are looking for the next big thing to slap a tax on, Massachusetts is looking to cut back on those extras. Beginning this weekend, the state is eliminating the state sales tax on alcohol. Massachusetts imposed a sales tax of 6.25% on sales of alcohol, putting it pretty much…
Donna Peeples writes: I have seen a lot of articles in the paper about taxing sodas and foods that are bad for you. I say, “Why not?” I used to be a smoker. At one point, I was up to two packs a day. When New Jersey raised their cigarette tax, I stopped because my…
Taxpayer asks: Thanks for taking the time to consider my question. I travel extensively for my job. When I travel, I have an expense account for meals and hotels. My company recently moved to a “no alcohol” policy on expense accounts. We cannot put any alcohol on our expense accounts and we cannot apply for…
Nevada legislators got an earful (and an eyeful) on Tuesday during a hearing about whether to tax prostitutes. The tax would be $5 per sex act and would raise more than $2 million per year for the state (I did the math on that one for you, it’s 400,000). Nevada has not collected any direct…
I’ve posted before about sin taxes – this notion of using tax as a means of controlling or modifying behavior. In the UK, the Chancellor delivered the new budget this week. The budget included little in the way of new or increased taxes since the UK is in the throes of many of the same…