Oakland bar owners have differing predictions on the effects of the proposed 3 percent reduction… Oakland bar owners have differing predictions on the effects of the proposed 3 percent reduction in the drink tax. After its first year in effect, Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato announced at a press conference Wednesday that he and other officials are recommending that the drink tax be lowered from 10 percent to 7 percent, starting Jan. 1. The reduction comes after the projected revenue from the tax exceeded Onorato’s expectations, said spokesman Kevin Evanto. Peter’s Pub manager Paul Giganti said that when implemented, the tax didn’t affect sales, but rather the clients’ attitudes. He anticipates that the proposed reduction would have a positive effect on sales. ‘People will have more money to spend, and they’ll spend more money,’ he said. Hemingway’s Cafe owner John Elavsky said it’s hard to predict whether or not the reduced tax will have any effect. He did say, however, that he feels the drink tax is unfair. ‘I’m all about being fair,’ said Elavsky. ‘I don’t agree with it being invoked to save [Port Authority] transit. That’s ludicrous to me. If you need a tax to save [Port Authority] transit, make it for everybody. If it goes down to 7 percent, I don’t know if that will help or hurt anything.’ Elavsky also said that Oakland bars, should be exempt from the tax because a public transit fee is already included in Pitt students’ semesterly fees. ‘Everybody in here probably goes to Pitt right now,’ he said. ‘Every time they get a drink, they’re paying more.’ Elavsky added that with a tax reduction, students should expect to see slightly lower prices on the drinks they serve. Not all Oakland bars, however, would lower their prices. Garage Door Saloon’s manager, Mark, who declined to give his last name, said he doesn’t expect to see any change in sales. ‘Beer prices all just went up because of the hop shortage,’ he said. ‘So all the beer prices just went up anyway. So for 3 percent, bars aren’t going to lower their prices when beer prices just went up to 3 percent.’ He said he supports a reduction in the drink tax because he disagrees with the idea of taxing one industry to support another. ‘I don’t feel they have the right to come in and tax just one industry for a business that can’t sufficiently run itself,’ he said. While some bars might reduce their prices, some Pitt students say the difference won’t be enough to change their spending habits. Shelley Perschke, a Pitt graduate student, said that while she only visits the bar once or twice a week, a reduction in price still won’t prompt her to spend more than usual. Some students are also skeptical that a 3 percent reduction would be enough to cause a discount. ‘They’re not going to lower the prices anyway,’ said John Spiegel, a Pitt senior. ‘When they raised it [to] 10 percent, it only went from like 50 cents to a dollar.’ Another Pitt graduate student, Tim Furphy, said he doubted that the reduction would affect the prices enough to affect his spending.