4/16/14 Tim Barmlet – Call to Action The proposed penny per ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages just won’t go away
Tim Barmlet – Call to Action
(If you buy or sell beverages in Illinois this is important to you.)
Good afternoon,
The proposed penny per ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages just won’t go away. We continue to hear from sources in all four caucuses that the idea is coming up in conversations about the budget and other spending plans. So, we are hoping to get it off the table once and for all.
We are asking that you once again hit your members up with a plea to contact their legislators over the Easter recess and remind them that this is a really bad idea.
I have attached a flyer which you can circulate directly to your members and others. It contains the link that will put them in touch directly with their legislator’s email. Or you can modify this in any fashion you prefer.
We need to get this message out to the rank-and-file members of the legislature before the idea gets any further traction.
Thanks!
On behalf of the Illinois Coalition Against Beverage Taxes,
Tim Bramlet
Flyer information:
Illinois Beverage Association
Oppose the Grocery Tax!
Would place a new unfair tax on the purchase of soda and other beverages
Illinois lawmakers are still considering imposing a tax of a penny per ounce on all sugar-sweetened beverages sold in Illinois.
Our customers would be forced to pay $1.44 more for a 12-pack of soda and up to 50 percent more for a two-liter bottle!
According to the USDA, all sugar-sweetened beverages account for only a small portion (6 percent) of calories in the average diet. Yet many lawmakers think this new tax will “end obesity.”
This tax would jeopardize many good-paying jobs in the beverage industry and thousands more in retail stores and restaurants throughout our state.
Politicians should focus on what matters most – education, jobs and the economy – and let us run our own businesses.
Tell your representative and senator to do their job and leave the grocery shopping to us!
There are two things you can do to help us right away:
- like us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/NoIllinoisBeverageTax
- sign the petition and send an email to your legislator at: www.NoILBeverageTax.com
Link to SB3524 Sweetened Beverage Tax –
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/billstatus.asp?DocNum=3524&GAID=12&GA=98&DocTypeID=SB&LegID=80968&SessionID=85
Link to HB5690 Sweetened Beverage Tax –
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=5690&GAID=12&DocTypeID=HB&SessionID=85&GA=98
Shared by Donnie Anderson – link to article
http://www.illinoispolicy.org/does-illinois-need-soda-taxes-and-soda-permits/