Today is the first day of liquor privatization in Washington State. I decided to celebrate by purchasing a bottle of Jameson at Safeway.
One question people had about privatization was how it would effect prices. It turns out that prices have gone down 20-30% (for now at least).
Before Privatization: $29.95
Now: $23.99
That's a 20% decrease. I also checked some of the other brands. The very low-end brands (like 80 proof Monarch vodka) had a 30% decrease.
So where did all that extra money go? It actually didn't go to the State of Washington. This initiative was written specifically to keep the State's revenue higher (revenue will probably go up, because of an increase in sales).
So where did the money go? It could be that Safeway is using this as a loss-leader. Losing money on these items because it brings people into their store. More likely, however, is that Safeway is more efficient than the State of Washington.
There are many things that governments are good at, but running a retail store isn't one of them. I'm glad we've found a more effective way to raise revenue for the state. Now our state bureaucracy can stick to collecting taxes and enforcing the law instead of stocking shelves.
(edited to correct my data entry on the prices).
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6 comments:
But your numbers show an increase. And does it include the 20% tax that you don't see till you get to the register?
Sorry, I transposed the numbers. I corrected it on the post.
I didn't notice that there's a 20% tax. I assumed they only had the normal 8.4%
Jeff their is a 27% tax at the register.
Actually there are 2 taxes added at the register and they total 27%.
Sorry guys. Turns out I'm an idiot. I bought the alcohol with my regular groceries, so I didn't notice the extra tax.
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