Pittsburgh, PA – Allegheny County Treasurer John Weinstein has publicly released the official Rules and Regulations governing the newly imposed 2008 Alcoholic Beverage Tax in Allegheny County. All establishments in the County that sell alcoholic beverages at retail must follow these rules.

On December 4, 2007, Allegheny County Council enacted a ten percent (10%) Alcoholic Beverage Tax for the County which was signed into law by the Chief Executive and to become effective January 1, 2008. Under state law, County Treasurer Weinstein is the Tax Collector of all taxes levied in Allegheny County and thus responsible for the collection of this new tax which will be collected on a monthly basis. All alcohol taxes collected in January 2008 must be remitted to the County on or before February 25, 2008.

“Under law, all sales of alcoholic beverages, including mixed drinks, wine and beer (opened or unopened) are taxable transactions. There are no exceptions to this law as every PLCB licensed establishment is responsible for collecting the tax at point of sale including non-profit entities. Purchases from Pennsylvania liquor stores, beer distributors and complimentary alcoholic beverages are exempt from the tax”, stated Treasurer Weinstein.

The Treasurer and his staff have been diligently working on the establishment of a comprehensive set of guidelines governing this new tax. A complete set of the detailed Alcoholic Beverage Tax Official Rules and Regulations have been mailed to each respective liquor license holder in the County. In addition, the rules are available on the Allegheny County Web site at www.alleghenycounty.us/treasure. Weinstein added, “My staff and I are here to assist and help all bar and restaurant owners through this process. Our objective is to make this new procedure as user friendly as possible.” Questions concerning the Alcoholic Beverage Tax should be directed to the Treasurer’s Office Special Tax Division at 877-TX-DRINK or 877-893-7465.

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Questions or comments for County Treasurer John Weinstein, please call 412-350-5901.