New pricing for wine and spirits at state-controlled liquor outlets seems simple enough - but that may not mean the transition is going to be smooth.

While the changes are deemed "revenue neutral" - meaning customers won't actually pay more - the way prices and taxes are calculated will differ from what has been done before, said liquor-control director Dennis R. Kellen.

Starting today, price tags on shelves will no longer include an average state sales tax of 6.6 percent.

That will now be added at the cash register, using calculations from each individual county, which range from 5.75 percent in Millard County to 8.1 percent in Alta.

For most other cities and towns in Salt Lake County, however, the sales tax will remain at 6.6 percent.

And with the new pricing, be sure to have some pennies on hand. Right now, the price of liquor is rounded to the nearest nickel. Now it will be charged to the penny.

"The only pennies we've had are the ones customers gave us," said Jim Montoya, who manages the Sandy Liquor and Wine Store. "Now our cashiers will be dealing in pennies."

There's a fear that liquor distributors will raise prices, which could go unnoticed when shelf prices no longer reflect the sales tax. But at least for the month of July, the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control has frozen all prices for wine, spirits and heavy beer.

What happens next month is anyone's guess.

There's more.

The current 13 percent school lunch tax will be added to the state markup on booze, which will increase from 64.5 percent to 86 percent. Those charges will continue to be figured into the shelf price of a bottle.

The changes came after restaurant owners complained about confusion surrounding liquor prices. Because restaurants and taverns had already paid the sales tax, servers were required to separately charge customers for drinks without charging a second sales tax at the point of sale.

Now, restaurant and tavern owners are not required to pay sales taxes on liquor until the alcoholic beverages are served. Diners will be paying sales tax for both alcoholic beverages and food.

Make sense?

Not to Mary Ann Mantes, a member of the Alcohol Beverage Control Commission, who voted against the changes in February. Hers was the only "no" vote among the five commissioners.

"It's confusing," Mantes predicted. "We're going to get a lot of bad publicity over this."

And this week, don't forget that the state's 38 liquor outlets and 100 package agencies in small towns and resorts will be closed on July Fourth.