Chris Fine, executive director of the Colorado Licensed Beverage Association, said his group estimates that one in every four or maybe even one in every three of Colorado’s approximately 1,600 independent liquor stores could close as a result of the legislation and ballot issue. That would mean 400 to 600 shuttered retailers.
Few shots are ever heard at the busy northwest Longmont intersection of Hover Street and 17th Avenue. And yet it's a battlefield in a larger statewide war.
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Excise taxes on beer, wine and spirits in Colorado are some of the lowest in the U.S. But Colorado also taxes alcohol at a significantly lower rate than other "sin" products despite spike in deaths.