Booze Booming in Benton County
by January 26, 2009 12:00 am 68 views
Alcohol sales are generally considered to be a recession-proof business, and the October crash of the stock market appears to bear that out.
According to Arkansas excise tax records, mixed drink collections exploded in Benton County during October compared to 2007.
Mixed drink collections increased 19.1 percent in October versus 2007 in Benton County, which is officially “dry” but has more than 100 private clubs where alcohol is served. For all of 2007, Benton County businesses paid $928,616 in mixed drink taxes.
In the first 10 months of 2008, Benton County collections were already at $911,056, an average monthly increase of 17.7 percent.
Washington County, which is “wet,” saw an 18.4 percent increase in mixed drink taxes during October versus 2007. The average monthly increase in mixed drink collections is 16.1 percent.
While mixed drink taxes are up in Washington County, liquor taxes are down slightly by 2.4 percent.
That tells us that while folks may be drowning their sorrows, at least they aren’t drinking alone.