Members of the New Hampshire Senate Commerce committee are expected to voted Wednesday (2/7) on whether to ban wine shipments to New Hampshire consumers from out-of-state wine retailers. Senate Bill 353 (Sen. Innis) would strip New Hampshire consumers of the right to receive shipments from out-of-state wine retailers, wine auction houses and wine-of-the-month clubs, a right they have possessed for many years, according to Tom Wark, executive director of National Association of Wine Retailers.
According the New Hampshire Liquor Commission’s own fiscal note on the bill, the state would lose over $400,000 in fees and tax revenue if SB 353 is passed.
“The most remarkable thing about this bill is that it is trying to fix a problem that does not exist,” said Wark. “New Hampshire residents don’t purchase wines from out-of-state sources and pay the heaving shipping costs if they can find what they want locally. Consumers in the Granite State always look for the wines they want locally first and if they can’t access them, then they look outside the state. That’s not a lost sale for the state of New Hampshire, but rather better choice for consumers and additional tax revenue for the state it otherwise would not have received.”