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Reality Check: The Impact Of Sunday Liquor Sales


MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Sunday liquor sales are now a part of Minnesota’s weekend life.

Sunday beer runs were made legal last summer for the first time in state history.

“We’ve been hearing loud and clear from our constituents that it’s time to get this done,” said Sen. Jeremy Miller, (R) Winona, who wrote the bill.

So what’s the impact?

We asked the Minnesota Department of Revenue to crunch the numbers for us. The Department calculated alcohol excise taxes for calendar year 2017, compared to previous years. It found only a modest increase in alcohol sales since Sunday liquor went online.

Here are the numbers, as prepared by the Revenue Department:

Calendar year alcohol excise taxes, in thousands.

Year Tax Revenue Change CY2017 90,190 +1.9 percent CY2016 88,490 +3.5 percent CY2015 85,519

The Department said impacts of the law change may vary based on the individual business or area.

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