Small Business Speaks Out Against Local Beverage Taxes

Date: September 27, 2017

NFIB joined with other business groups, organized labor, and agriculture representatives to support legislation that would halt any local effort to tax food and beverages. Senate Bill 583, introduced by Senator Peter MacGregor, and House Bill 4999, introduced by Representative Rob VerHeulen would prohibit local governments from enacting any local tax on food or beverage. NFIB testified at hearings that were held on the bills in both the Senate and House Competitiveness Committees.

 

“Cities and counties around the country have been enacting so called “pop” or “soda” taxes on beverages that they deem to be ‘unhealthy’,” said NFIB State Director Charlie Owens. “However, these taxes always end up applying to hundreds of beverages beyond soft drinks and create a regulatory nightmare for small business.”

 

Owens said that the California cities of San Francisco, Oakland, and Albany, as well as Boulder, Colorado, Seattle, Washington, Philadelphia, and Cook County, Illinois have all imposed these taxes and it is only a matter of time before local governments in Michigan consider similar tax proposals. Owens also said that after pop and soda are taxed the next step will be food items.

 

“While local governments and advocates of these taxes want everyone to believe that they are acting in the interest of public health and safety, the real motivation is to raise revenue to fund more local government growth and bureaucracy and to bail out local budget deficits from years of over-spending,” said Owens. “In the case of Cook County, they have not been shy about admitting that the revenue would help offset the burden of unfunded pension liabilities for local government employees.”

 

Owens also said that Michigan’s sales tax is supposed to be levied at the state level only and any increase in the rate requires a vote of the people. “Allowing locals governments to creep around this by calling it an “excise tax” or a “healthy food” tax – or whatever, is just a ruse to impose a local sales tax,” said Owens.

 

 

Related Content: Small Business News | Michigan | Taxes

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