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Wednesday, February 12, 2003

By Johnna A. Pro, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

Pittsburgh bar owners hoping to stop the Murphy administration's proposed 10 percent alcoholic drink tax are taking their campaign to the public with a poster and petition drive aimed at beer drinkers, wine connoisseurs and even brides-to-be.

With assists from the Pennsylvania Tavern Association, Frank B. Fuhrer Wholesale Co., Anheuser-Busch, Pittsburgh Brewing Co. and others, about two dozen bar owners met yesterday to plan the public awareness campaign aimed at persuading the state Legislature to nix the tax.

"It's highly unfair to try to balance that budget on the backs of one [segment] of our society -- the patrons of our establishments," said Richard Alloway II, executive director of the Pennsylvania Tavern Association.

Murphy proposed the tax, which he expects to generate $5 million, to help fill a $60 million shortfall in the city's budget. The Legislature would have to approve the levy.

Bar owners said consumers will ultimately pay more than 10 percent and the tax will drive business out of the city.

"They think we're just going to absorb it," said Ron Levick, owner of the Attic, Club Laga and the Upstage, all in Oakland. "But if you charge $3 for a beer, you don't go to $3.30, you don't go to $3.25, you go to $3.50. People are going to be paying more for every single drink they buy."

On a larger scale, the tax could mean hundreds of dollars of added expense for people planning events like weddings or banquets at city venues, said Terry Wirginis, president of the Gateway Clipper Fleet.

Wirginis worries that the tax would drive people to suburban hotels and restaurant banquet facilities where the costs will be lower for large-scale events. For example, on a bar tab for a wedding with 150 guests, the proposed tax could add $100 to $250, he said.

"I'm very concerned about being competitive," Wirginis said. "That's real money. It's a major cost that would have to be passed on."

The posters, with matching placards for table tops, are being printed by Fuhrer and Pittsburgh Brewing and will be distributed to bar owners throughout the city by their sales forces.

Customers will be asked to sign petitions and call legislators to voice their opposition as part of the campaign.

Frank Fuhrer III said it was natural for his family's business to lend its support to the city's bar owners.

"A big core of our business is in the city," he said. "We're only as healthy as our core."