A contentious proposal for an alcohol tax in Anchorage hasn't even officially been scheduled for the April city ballot, but the state liquor industry has already launched a campaign to fight it.
On Wednesday, members of the Alaska Cabaret, Hotel, Restaurant and Retailers Association filed paperwork with the Alaska Public Offices Commission to create a political group to oppose a retail sales tax on alcohol proposed by Anchorage Assembly Chair Dick Traini earlier this month. The filing allows the group, "Anchorage Residents Against Taxes," to start raising money.
Already the group has received $30,000 in donations, said Dale Fox, president of Alaska CHARR.
Fox said the plan is to raise $500,000 "to run a very thorough campaign to … communicate to the public how ill-conceived this tax is."
It's still a question whether the measure has enough Assembly support to make it to the April ballot. The Assembly has to decide by Feb. 3, and it will take eight votes to pass. At the start of Tuesday's meeting, Assembly member Ernie Hall introduced an amended version of the proposal specifying that revenues would be dedicated to "financing alcohol treatment, emergency transportation and housing programs, including housing programs for chronic inebriates," which he said was meant to clarify where the money could be spent.
The exact amount of the tax is also undecided. Traini unveiled the proposal Jan. 13 and sent it to three separate Assembly committees, but none of the committees have recommended a tax percentage. An 8 percent tax would generate between $14 million and $20 million, according to estimates from the city treasury department.
Members of the liquor industry, angered by the prospect of a local sales tax on alcohol, have accused Assembly members of political maneuvering and said the measure lacks a clear action plan. Despite not knowing whether voters will see the tax proposal on the ballot at all, Fox said "the crazy timeline Dick Traini has put on us" left opponents of the tax no other choice but to organize early.
The group is chaired by Glenn Brady, owner of Silver Gulch Brewing Co., and Fox is the treasurer. Of the $30,000 that has been collected, half came from Alaska CHARR, and the other half came from the Alaska Wine and Spirits Wholesalers Association, according to Fox.