CUMBERLAND — Nobody seems to understand exactly what went wrong, but for now, mocktails will replace cocktails at a local business.
Jerard Puckett, Embassy Theatre’s executive director and board president, said in April he filed required tax reports for the company on the state comptroller’s website.
The theater’s invoices were paid and current, he said.
“We assumed everything was OK,” Puckett said.
But a short time later, he learned the business’s liquor license was on hold per the state comptroller.
Puckett said he called the office and, after being placed on hold for 45 minutes, was told there was no record of his filings.
“I have no idea what’s going on,” he said, adding that he made multiple calls to find answers. “You cannot get ahold of the comptroller’s office.”
Because of the problem, the Embassy for weeks has been unable to sell alcohol.
“It’s causing a lot of trouble,” he said.
The theater has a drag show scheduled for later this month in conjunction with the Cumberland Pride celebration.
“But we can’t afford it if we don’t have a liquor license,” Puckett said.
“It’s a significant portion of our income, liquor sales,” he said. “More than half of our cafe profits come from alcohol sales (and) more than half of that income has vanished.”
The Embassy has held a liquor license for decades, he said.
“We’ve never had a problem like this before,” Puckett said. “It’s very frustrating.”
On hold
The Maryland Alcohol, Tobacco, and Cannabis Commission said it assumed the role of issuing statewide alcohol licenses in 2021.
However, retail alcohol licenses are issued by a local board in each Maryland county, and the state commission is not involved in that process, the office said.
Tom Farrell, chairman of Allegany County’s liquor board, said the organization must get a release from the state comptroller’s office to reactivate the Embassy Theatre’s license.
“It’s not revoked, it’s on hold,” he said of the license, adding that Embassy officials “haven’t done anything wrong as far as we’re concerned.”
Farrell said the comptroller’s office in January sent his board an “extensive” list of Allegany County businesses with “issues” that could cause their liquor licenses to be held by the state.
He said the local board did not receive details of the various problems, but notified the businesses so they could address the problems.
By May 1, the annual liquor license renewal deadline, more than a dozen local businesses still had unresolved complications with the state, Farrell said.
As soon as the state issues the release, a local business can collect its liquor license from the county liquor board, he said.
State and local agencies must verify that “an applicant renewing a license has paid all states taxes due, or made a satisfactory payment arrangement, before the license can be renewed.
The agencies include the Comptroller of Maryland, Clerks of the Circuit Court, Maryland Department of Labor, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Motor Vehicle Administration, Department of Natural Resources and Department of the Environment.
“If you hold a license issued by one of these agencies, you should file any necessary tax returns and pay all taxes due without delay,” the comptroller’s website states. “If you wait until license renewal time to resolve a tax liability, your renewal may be delayed.”
Once the tax issue has been resolved, the comptroller’s office will notify the appropriate agency.
Compliance issues
The state comptroller’s office Wednesday said businesses experiencing issues with alcohol license renewals can call a collection team in the compliance division at 410-649-0633 or email at cdcollectionbizz@marylandtaxes.gov.
Taxpayers can also visit the Cumberland branch office, 3 Pershing St., Suite 101, in person or virtually for assistance.
“Our team within the comptroller’s office works diligently to notify businesses of any state tax liabilities, and we make every effort to assist them in reaching a resolution,” the office said via email. “If a business fails to fulfill its tax obligations, the comptroller’s office is required to place a hold on that business’s alcohol license. That business is then prevented from renewing its alcohol license until it resolves any outstanding tax liabilities.”
When resolving tax obligations, business owners must provide confirmation that all tax liabilities associated with their license are met.
“If taxes are not filed and paid in full, licensees can work with our compliance division to fulfill the obligation through a payment plan,” the office said. “The compliance division then immediately notifies the liquor board via email of the resolution. Businesses that fail to resolve any outstanding tax liabilities are prevented from renewing their alcohol licenses.”
County liquor boards and affected business taxpayers were notified of liquor license renewal holds in late 2024 ahead of the May 2025 renewal deadline, “to provide them with ample time to contact our office and achieve tax compliance.”
In Allegany County, 69 businesses were initially notified that they were facing license holds.
As of Wednesday, “only six of the 69 businesses still have outstanding liabilities to the state,” the office said. “We continue to work with those remaining businesses to resolve these matters.”