NEWBURYPORT — A month into the new tax on liquor at local package stores, owners of the stores say business is definitely down. If a proposed initiative makes it to the November ballot, those stores could get a break.

Attorney General Martha Coakley certified several proposals for the statewide ballot last week, including one from the Massachusetts Package Store Association in West Springfield that would eliminate a new law that imposed the state's 6.25 percent sales tax on the retail purchase of wine, hard liquor and beer.

That law took effect Aug. 1.

The plight of local liquor stores was highlighted last week when the Boston Herald reported a Massachusetts legislator who voted in favor of the liquor tax was caught by a bystander buying wine and liquor at the New Hampshire State Liquor Store in Hampton.

At Route 110 Liquors in Amesbury, manager Phil Jones said their business has dropped about 10 percent.

"We've had a lot of our customers tell us they have no choice but to go to New Hampshire because of the difference in the price," Jones said. "We're definitely seeing a sharp decline."

Frank Anzalotti, the executive director of the MPSA, said that group will now conduct telephone polls and survey to gauge the level of response to the proposal to see if there is enough support for the measure at the polls.

If that research proves the proposal stands a chance at the polls, the association will move forward with collecting the necessary number of signatures to move the initiative forward to place it on the ballot, Anzalotti said. They must collect about 66,000 signatures from registered voters by Dec. 2 in order to present the measure to the state Legislature.

Anzalotti said yesterday the association has been hearing from the larger package stores in border communities who saw a "sharp decline" in early August, after holding large "pre-tax" sales that did well.

Anzalotti said it's too early to determine what the impact has been overall, noting it's only been in place for a month. Other factors are also playing a role, such as the bad summer weather, he said.

Todd Baltich, the owner of Leary's Fine Wines and Spirits, said yesterday it's too early to tell how much of an impact the tax has had, but there has been an impact.

"It's just common sense that it's going to drive business to New Hampshire," Baltich said.

Baltich said the tax doesn't "make sense" in a recession.

"The last thing government wants to do during a recession is create a tax that's going to hurt small business," he said. "When you hurt small business, they're going to decrease their staff, and those employees are going to have to go on unemployment. It just doesn't make any sense."