RE: LETTER: [State Store] Privatization will lead to increased prices
Retail prices increased 15-20% in Washington in 2012, because the state installed another tier of taxes to maintain revenue neutrality, which left the end-user as the only place for the private sector to extract their profit margin. Of course, Speaker Turzai’s plan calls for the same long-term strategy.
Washington [State] is actually losing revenue the second year in, as end-users flee high prices by flocking to Oregon & Idaho, two public control states.
If a one-time billion dollars is realized on the front end, the licenses have to be monstrously expensive, said cost also passed on to the end-user. Licensees will cluster in and around the five counties containing Pittsburgh and Philly – which generate nearly 50% of the cash flow.
The forty rural counties generate less than 11% of the revenue – so country folks are in for long drives.
Fortunately Governor Wolf sees all the flaws in the plan.
