Initiative Measure No. 1107 concerns reversing certain 2010 amendments to state tax laws. This measure would end sales tax on candy, end temporary sales tax on some bottled water, end temporary excise taxes on carbonated beverages, and reduce tax rates for certain food processors.
Should this measure be enacted into law? ( ) Yes ( ) No
For more information about Initiative 1107, including official impact and explanatory statements and statements for and against, visit http://www.vote.wa.gov, then click on “2010 General Election Voters’ Guide,” then click on “State Measures.”
Almost any company will tell you that increasing taxes is bad for business, especially during a recession. Increasing costs for businesses affects payroll and investment — things that can stimulate the economy and put people back to work.
But what if your local state representative said he thought it was a good idea to increase taxes on thousands of common grocery products, including soda, beverages like carbonated fruit juice and tea and bottled water to pay for state spending? These are products that Washington businesses make and sell, products that Washington families put in our grocery carts every week.
Initiative Measure No. 1107 concerns reversing certain 2010 amendments to state tax laws. This measure would end sales tax on candy, end temporary sales tax on some bottled water, end temporary excise taxes on carbonated beverages, and reduce tax rates for certain food processors.
Should this measure be enacted into law? ( ) Yes ( ) No
For more information about Initiative 1107, including official impact and explanatory statements and statements for and against, visit http://www.vote.wa.gov, then click on "2010 General Election Voters' Guide," then click on "State Measures."
That’s exactly what the politicians in Olympia did earlier this year when they imposed hundreds of millions of dollars in new taxes on food and beverage products.
That kind of tax scheme is not just bad for business. Simply put, it is bad for consumers, and bad for families. And that’s why voters should support Initiative 1107 on the Nov. 2 ballot.
Families and employers across the state are struggling to get through these tough times. Raising taxes on food and beverages sets a terrible precedent for years to come. We already know we will be facing budget problems again next year.
If it’s OK to tax health food bars or chocolate chips this year, what groceries will Olympia add next year when more money is needed? Instead of controlling their own spending, politicians created higher prices for all of us at the grocery store.
This new tax scheme puts Washington businesses like ours — and the small retailers that we serve — at a competitive disadvantage.
Our family has owned and operated Corwin Beverage Company for almost 70 years here in Southwest Washington. With families looking to pinch pennies wherever possible these days, our local stores and shops are losing sales to Oregon. When that business goes across the river, local jobs go right along with it. With double-digit unemployment in Clark County alone, it makes no sense to drive business away from local companies.
What’s worse, when the Legislature slapped a new excise tax on soft drink bottlers in our state, they said they intended to exempt small, local companies like ours from this tax. But they somehow made a “mistake” — and these taxes were imposed anyway.
This is just another way the Legislature has hurt Washington companies, with a badly written law, during an economic downturn when we’re already struggling to survive and protect the jobs that we provide here in Clark County. Our family business has already trimmed five positions from our sales force through attrition to compensate for the effects of the tax. Like other businesses, we have also had to delay investments such as vehicles and computer equipment because of the economy.
That’s why our company has joined with thousands of Washington consumers, businesses, farmers, food producers and small grocery stores to support a “Yes” vote on Initiative 1107, which, if passed, will repeal the Legislature’s costly and unfair new taxes on food and beverages.
By voting “Yes” on I-1107, we can send a message that taxing the products we put in our grocery carts — and the companies that produce them — is not the way to fill the state’s budget gaps.
I have lived in Clark County since I was born and now I am raising my family here. I care about our quality of life and about our community. Short-sighted politics will not benefit the families in our community or our long-term economic recovery. I am ready to send the message to Olympia that enough is enough.
I am sending that message by voting “Yes” on Initiative 1107.
Heidi Piper Schultz of Vancouver is human resources manager of Ridgefield’s Corwin Beverage Company .
