A 4 percent tax on the total purchase price of liquor and wine sold monthly by restaurateurs and others is no more.

The Selma City Council has voted to abandon the tax, which came under fire last year when the city attempted to collect it for the first time in years.

At that time, some bar owners and restaurateurs approached the city council, claiming the monthly imposition of a 4 percent tax proved double taxation because they already paid a fee to sell the spirits and unfair because entities deemed as private clubs did not have to pay the tax.

City attorney Jimmy Nunn presented a new ordinance recently that redacts the 4 percent tax. The council, which placed a moratorium on the liquor tax late last year, approved the new ordinance.

The present ordinance as approved says retail distributors or sellers of liquor or fortified wine should pay a license fee of $150 each year for selling the goods.

The issue over the tax came to the forefront last year after Mayor George Evans had the tax office send out notices for the tax. At the time, Evans said the move was not to “pick” on anyone.

The authority to tax had been discovered and the city needed the money.