Controversial Beer Opinions Thread

I buy in bulk typically (thanks PA for your archaic laws), so with no state sales tax it works out pretty well. Only issue is if you get pulled over they fine you $10 bucks a beer.

 

Old bootlegging law they have never bothered to change, I doubt they actually enforce it but it's on the books.

 

I've read stories about people getting arrested coming into PA from total Total wine Claymont, they have cops in the parking lot that look for out of state plates.

 

Honestly they have cops looking for tv purchases, everything over there. This is why people hate police tbh, I should be able to buy beer wherever I damn please.

 

OMG and I thought South Carolina was backward as fuck.

 

What the hell is going on in Pennsylvania? Your alcohol laws sound crazy!

 

As do a number of other states PA has a law that effectively says it is illegal for you to have in your posession Alcohol that has not been taxed in PA. Driving to Delaware (or any other state) and stocking up on beer is just fine until you carry that beer over the border and back into PA. Enforcement is not as vigorous it could be since it isn't necessarily the highest priority for the troopers to deal with ordinary citizens rather than true bootleggers. However, during the years I've lived here I've seen news reports of folks having their vehicles confiscated when bringing back a couple of cases of wine, beer, spirits, etc.

 

No state wants their citizens avoiding the state excise taxes on alcoholic beverages by buying out of state, and those regulations were typically written into the post-Prohibition Repeal era laws. NJ's, for instance is:

(Yeah, yeah - either 3 gallons in bottles or 7.75 gallon kegs? But if they make you pay an extra $50, you're sure not going to settle for one more sixpack. I think my biggest PA>NJ haul was probably around 8 cases but I made it through the roadblocks and the revenuers with no problem!)

Granted, PA does seem more aggressive enforcing it, but that's likely because those buying wine and spirits are also depriving the state-owned liquor stores of their profit on top of the excise taxes.

 

Personally, since, unlike most of SC, we can buy beer on Sunday anywhere in PA, I'll take PA.

 

Hey at least we are allowed to have happy hours.

 

And ultimately a pariah.

 

No longer my man, blue laws in most counties have been changed. We moved here 6 years ago and I remember driving to NC on some Sundays to get beer. Thanks to the changes we can buy beer at 6 AM on Sunday morning but have to wait until 10 to buy underwear !! Yeah we do have some stupid laws too.

 

I used to call him @EvenMoreNonSequiturs

 

I know PA has some ridiculous liquor laws but I am skeptical of some of these claims by our fellow PA BA's. Any state that has sales tax requires a consumer to pay a use tax if they are not charged sales tax and they bring their taxable purchases back into their state. That goes for jewelry, artwork, computers purchased online or any item that it subject to tax in their state. So technically you could report your purchase of beer and pay use tax on it (at a later date on your income tax return or online) and be observing the law. Anyone getting pulled over and having their beer or liquor confiscated or fined is having their rights violated.

 

It's not consumer-paid sales tax that's the issue with alcoholic beverages, it's the state excise tax, which is paid by the brewer and/or wholesaler.

 

Fair enough but do the police have the right to confiscate these goods or fine people for their purchase? I can't imagine under what circumstance they would have the authority to pull a car over for something like this.

 

Reminds of when I was in my twenties. Except it was multiple transactions of a bunch of 40s after all the distributors closed from some shady bar.

 

Apparently as of 2015/2016 it is "legal" to transport alcohol into PA. The exception to the rule is if poilce are tipped off with information about your purchase. So it it ok on paper to do it until a police officer sitting in the Total wine parking lot tips off his partner and they pull you over and arrested you.