Around New England

New Hampshire Makes Large Alcohol Buys With Cash Easy for Bootleggers, State Official Says

February 18, 2018

Booze is relatively cheap in New Hampshire because state excise taxes are lower than in most other states — so some restaurants in New York City send people to the Granite State to buy liquor and illegally transport it there.

The New Hampshire Liquor Commission makes it easy by facilitating purchases of large quantities of alcohol with cash that can’t be traced by authorities, said Andru Volinsky, a Democratic member of the state’s Executive Council, according to The Union Leader.

Columnist Dave Solomon notes that New Hampshire makes “millions in revenue” from “the lifestyle choices of its own citizens and those from out of state, whether it be cheap alcohol, cigarettes, or fireworks.”

Volinsky calls the liquor commission’s large-scale cash sales to out-of-staters “troubling practices” and says they “may be illegal.”

 


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