Liquor store owners worried about impact of wine tax hike

(WSYR-TV) Syracuse (WSYR-TV) – A bottle of wine or a case of beer is going to cost you a bit more starting Friday, when the state’s tax increase takes effect.

The wine excise tax is going up from 18.9 cents a gallon to 30 cents a gallon, which comes out to roughly two cents a bottle. Producers and distributors will foot the bill, but it will get passed on to customers in the end.

Steve Medeiros, owner of Mack’s Liquor Mart, spent Thursday night counting every bottle of wine in the store. He will then calculate how many gallons he has and how much he’ll have to pay the state.

He and other store owners are being charged the tax up front this month, because the state didn’t want stores stocking up on wine before the increase went into effect. After Friday, every new case of wine he buys will cost more -- roughly 11 cents a gallon more.

It may not sound like much, but with stores buying dozens of cases at a time, Medieros said it will add up.

“I can’t afford to take it out of my pocket -- it goes right back to the consumer,” Medeiros said. He’s worried the more he adds to the bottle’s price tag, the less likely folks will buy a bottle.

Medeiros says he will take two factors in to account before increasing prices: He’ll consider the amount of taxes he’ll pay this month, and he’ll also consider the new price of wine cases.

Similar rules apply to beer. The excise tax increase jumps from 11 cents per gallon to 14 cents per gallon.