Tuesday, November 12, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Friday, December 21, 2012
No Hawaii Beverage Tax
By News Release @ 5:45 PM :: 12262 Views :: National News, Taxes, Cost of Living

Aloha from the No Hawaii Beverage Tax Coalition!   December 20, 2012

As 2012 draws to a close, we wanted to let you know how our work is going and give you an update on what we expect in 2013.

In November, voters in two California cities, Richmond and El Monte, went to the polls and voted on local ballot measures that proposed placing a penny-per-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages. Hundreds of products, from juice drinks to bubble teas, were swept up in the net of these ill-conceived tax measures.  Both measures were met with strong opposition by local businesses and families and both were resoundingly defeated at the ballot box.  Sixty-eight percent of Richmond voters said "NO" to the tax and 76% of El Monte voters said "NO."  

On the international front, November also brought the repeal of Denmark's wildly unpopular "fat tax" after only one year on the books.  As Danes began flocking across the border to Sweden and Germany to buy groceries, lawmakers were forced to face the harmful effect the tax had on businesses throughout the country.

From Southern California to Northern Europe, the message is clear: obesity can't be solved through a tax, and people want politicians to focus on solving big problems instead of singling out common grocery items for unfair taxes.  

We've been busy growing our coalition of concerned citizens, families, business and organizations opposed to beverage taxes.  Our coalition has over 2,300 individual members, over 8,000 Facebook fans and more than 320 business members.  It’s so exciting to see momentum building against a beverage tax!

As January and the 2013 legislative session nears, we're working hard to tell our elected officials that discriminatory taxes hurt Hawaii's businesses and families, and that in these tough economic times we simply can't afford to let politicians experiment with bad policies.  Hawaii was just ranked near the bottom of states friendly to business—beverage taxes will only make matters worse and hurt an industry that supports thousands of jobs across the Islands.  

Help us spread the word! If you haven’t already, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and check back often for news and updates.  

Thank you for your continued support!  Let's keep politicians out of our shopping carts.  

-Your friends at No Hawaii Beverage Tax

 

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii Military History

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Together

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

July 4 in Hawaii

Land and Power in Hawaii

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii