Boozing in Massachusetts may get a whole lot cheaper after voters backed Question 1 to repeal the alcohol sales tax on Tuesday.
However, voters struck down Questions 2 and 3, which called to repeal special permits for low – income housing and roll the 6.25 sales tax back to 3 percent.
At 97 percent of precincts reporting, 52 percent of the electorate voted in favor of Question 1, which gets rid of the 6.25 percent state sales tax extended to alcohol last year.
Alcohol will now be priced as a necessity, the same as food, clothes and health care, critics point out.
PJ Foster, the spokeswoman for Yes On 1, called the sales tax a “double tax,” saying it hurt competition for Massachusetts businesses around the New Hampshire border.
“Businesses within 30 miles of New Hampshire are getting killed,” Foster said.
New Hampshire does not have a sales tax on alcohol or cigarettes.
The Committee against the Repeal of the Alcohol Tax was not available to comment but said in a statement sent to voters that the repeal would take away money from substance abuse programs.
However, Foster said that taxes on alcohol are not funded directly toward substance abuse programs.
“No one wants these programs to get cut,” Foster said.
Voters struck down Question 2 with 55 percent voting no and 45 percent voting yes, maintaining Chapter 40B, the law that gives developers of affordable housing extra leniency with zoning and permits.
Before the votes rolled in, Anne Baker, a spokeswoman for No on 2, said that if Chapter 40B was repealed, projects to help working class citizens would be cut.
“There are 12,000 units that are in the pipeline that will not be built,” said Baker.
Those in favor of Question 2 argue that developers take advantage of Chapter 40B and serve personal interests rather than those of the community.
Fifty-eight percent of voters selected no on Question 3 to reduce the sales tax from 6.25 percent to 3 percent. A yes vote would have caused an additional $2.5 billion deficit to the Massachusetts economy, said Toby McGrath, spokesman for No on 3.
McGrath said the bill “would end up affecting our local schools, hospitals, schools and bridges.”
Massachusetts is one of roughly half of U.S. states that give voters the chance to practice direct democracy by placing issues on the ballot.
Proposed ballot questions must collect 66,593 signatures from registered voters to appear on the ballot. Only 33,297 signatures must be collected to repeal existing laws. State legislatures can amend or repeal acts that are passed.
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