Valley Girl Views: Do We Still Pay A Johnstown Flood Liquor Tax Here In Pa?

The "Johnstown Flood Tax" On Pennsylvania Liquor - Are We Still Paying That Today? Yes, and No. Oh, we're still paying it of course, at least if you buy any alcohol in Pennsylvania you are. Not only are you paying this 18% tax, but it's hidden, so you then pay sales tax on that 18% tax. Tax, on a tax. However, it's not really the "Johnstown Flood" tax, although it's sympathy from the Johnstown Flood that probably allowed this to happen.

The 1889 flood in Johnstown, with more than 2,000 lives lost and over 4 square miles completely destroyed, remains the largest disaster recorded in the state of Pennsylvania.

And yes, we do pay an 18% liquor tax, hidden in the original cost, so that we actually pay sales tax on the liquor tax, here in Pa. If you buy wine, or liquor, in Pennsylvania, you actually pay taxes, on taxes. That first 18% tax is calculated into the cost and will not appear on your receipt. It was meant to be "temporary tax" , and not only was it not temporary - but it has been raised. Twice.

But the "Johnstown Flood Tax" is a bit deceptive. Because this money never went to the recovery efforts of Johnstown after the 1889 Flood. Johnstown was long rebuilt before this tax was enacted, in 1936. This tax came after the St Patrick's Day flood, which caused devastation in towns all throughout the state - including our local towns of Williamsport, Milton, and Lewisburg. It's simply the "Liquor Tax", a temporary tax to help with state wide recovery after the 1936 flood.

The Philadelphia Inquirer, March 1936

Comparing the Johnstown Flood of 1889 to the Flood of 1936

In the flood’s immediate aftermath — and only three years after the repeal of Prohibition — the state Legislature passed a 10 percent tax on liquor sales to raise money for flood relief.

So why is it referred to as the Johnstown Tax? I'm not certain. In the early newspaper reports, it is called simply "the liquor tax".

If I had to hazard a guess, I would say it is known as the Johnstown Tax because the citizens of Johnstown were the most vocal in begging for relief. This was just 47 years after the 1889 flood, with that disaster fresh in everyone's minds, when the St Patrick's Day flood came and caused $43 million dollars in new damage to the town. Johnstown wanted the federal government to protect them from flooding, and school children were tasked with sending President Roosevelt letters begging for this protection. Roosevelt even came to Johnstown to tour the city after the 1936 flood.

Still, it wasn't the federal government that enacted the liquor tax in 1936 though - that was the state of Pennsylvania.

According to a former president of the Johnstown Historical Association, “They used Johnstown’s notoriety to pass an emergency tax to fund the recovery efforts for the Western Pennsylvania areas that were affected by that flood". (But to clarify - it wasn't just Western Pennsylvania - damage was widespread throughout the state)

The liquor tax was made permanent in 1951, and it was increased to 15 percent in 1963 and then in 1968 it was increased to 18 percent.

So anyone who purchases liquor in the state of Pennsylvania is still paying for that disaster, even though the actual disaster was paid for decades ago. Figures vary by year, but the tax collects hundreds of millions of dollars each year, no longer specified for disaster recovery, but simply sent to the states general fund.

"The emergency has long since passed, but the tax remains" - The Harrisburg Telegraph, 1942

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