PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Ending the sales tax on beer sold in Rhode Island liquor stores is on the agenda of some Republican state legislators.
House Minority Whip Blake Filippi, a Block Island Republican, introduced a bill Friday to eliminate the tax on beer and other malt beverages.
The Democratic-controlled General Assembly has already exempted wine and spirits from the state’s 7-percent sales tax. Officials estimate that exemption costs state government about $16 million a year in lost revenue. Exempting beer could forfeit another $10 million annually.
Lawmakers who in 2013 voted to repeal the tax on wine and spirits said they were helping Rhode Island merchants from losing business to customers traveling to Massachusetts to save money.
Massachusetts voters in 2010 repealed their state’s sales tax on all alcoholic beverages sold in stores.
