Challenge Filed to Drink Tax Petitions

Citizens Against Raising Taxes on Property (CARTOP) will challenge the petitions filed to put a question reducing Allegheny County’s drink tax from 10 percent to 0.5 percent. The challenge must be filed by 5:00pm Tuesday. CARTOP President Shawn Flaherty says the petitions included names like Steelers Mascot Steely McBeam and signatures from people who do not live in Allegheny County. He says of the more than 44,000 signatures submitted, only 16,000 are valid. That would be well below the 23,000 needed. Flaherty says his organization is ready to go before a judge and point out every signature that is invalid. A three-judge panel threw out both drink tax referendums, but that decision has been appealed.