If you have a package good store near the county line, Baltimore MayorStephanie Rawlings-Blake's proposed 5-cent bottle tax is not a nickel ("Mayor pushes school repairs," Feb. 14). Applying the tax to a 30-pack of beer would cost the city consumer $1.50 more plus a  15-cent sales tax on a tax. The nickel is now $1.65 more than the county!

I agree that nickel is no big deal on a single item, but when you buy a bulk package, which is how beverages are sold in a package store, that nickel is devastating and prevents us from being competitive. Consumers will travel miles from their homes to save a nickel on a gallon of gas. They will certainly do the same to save money on bulk packages. We need to be exempt from this tax.

Joe Gordon, Baltimore

The writer is owner of Genie's Liquors.