From No Hawaii Beverage Tax

This week we wanted to share with you another side of this debate that isn't always considered: the unintended consequences of the beverage tax.  The Ball Corporation, one of the pillars of Hawaii's manufacturing industry, is the only manufacturer of metal cans in the islands.  They opened in Hawaii in 1979 and have been providing good local jobs ever since. The company employs 45 people and the beverage tax places their jobs directly at risk.

If the beverage tax passes, the Ball Corporation would likely have to shut down.  That's 45 people with good jobs who would be out of work.  

Since Ball Corporation is the only can manufacturing plant in Hawaii, we’d have to ship over empty cans from the mainland. Not only is that wasteful, it would also drive up the costs of beverages even further.  

It's just one of the unintended consequences of the beverage tax.  Lowell Kalapa, President of the Hawaii Tax Foundation, wrote a great article recently that urged the media to really consider the full impact of the legislature's actions:

“Individually, each of these proposals seems harmless - a penny here, a dime there - it doesn’t seem like much, but put them altogether and families will be hit with a substantial whack to their pocketbooks next year. Surprisingly, even the media seems to be immune to what is going on at the legislature as they focus in on the individual proposals. They too have been lulled into “feeling good” that issues such as childhood obesity and watershed restoration are being addressed without comprehending the overall financial impact that many of these fees and taxes are creating. So it is up to you, as the taxpayer, to weigh in as to whether or not you are willing to shell more out from your wallet for more government. Lawmakers need to hear from you."

We couldn’t agree with Lowell more. 

The beverage tax is still waiting to be heard by the Senate Ways and Means Committee. We have been monitoring the bill and will continue to send you important updates as they develop.

We have 360 businesses, over 2,600 individual supporters and more than 10,000 people have liked us on Facebook. Our coalition grows every day and we need your help to continue spreading the facts about what this beverage tax would do. Please ask friends and family to join our coalition if they haven’t already.

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