TRENTON N.J. The New Jersey Restaurant Association is protesting a proposed 25-percent increase in the excise tax on wine and liquor in the state, saying that local restaurateurs will likely have to pass the additional cost onto their customers.
The tax increase is part of the state's proposed $28.6 billion budget. Lawmakers in New Jersey were expected to finalize the details for the budget Thursday, and final passage is expected as early as June 18.
Deborah Dowdell, president of the NJRA, said the association has submitted a petition containing some 6,000 signatures to Gov. Jon Corzine's office in opposition of the tax increase. A website, www.axetaxesnotjobs.com, also has been created.
“Currently the retail price of the average bottle of wine and spirits includes almost 50 percent tax; that’s miserable enough,” Dowdell said. “Governor Corzine’s proposed budget calls for increasing that tax by 25 percent and that tax increase cannot be absorbed by restaurants, bars and catering facilities and liquor stores, so we’ll have to pass that tax along to the millions of customers we serve every day.”
The tax increase on wine and liquor is expected to generate approximately $22 million for the state, which over the last year has struggled with a budget deficit of more than $1.2 billion.
Dowdell said the NJRA believes the projected $22 million in revenue would not be met, and that the tax increase would lead to job losses and other hardships for New Jersey’s restaurant industry, which already has suffered during the economic slowdown.
Contact Elissa Elan at [email protected].