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NEW YORK LEGISLATORS REJECT BILLION DOLLAR SODA TAX |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Michael McKeon Phone: (212) 681-1380
FLUSHING, N.Y. (August 4, 2010)—New Yorkers Against Unfair Taxes, a coalition of concerned New Yorkers – individuals, families and small businesses – opposed to unfair and discriminatory taxes, today applauded the state Legislature for making the right decision to approve a budget that does not include a regressive and discriminatory beverage tax that would have unfairly targeted the grocery baskets of middle- and working-class families.  Despite Paterson’s claims, this tax would have been more than “just pennies.” It would have raised the prices of many products in New Yorkers’ grocery baskets by more than 50 percent. A beverage tax would also put thousands of good-paying jobs in the beverage industry and related industries at risk.  “We are elated to see common sense and logic win the day in Albany,” said Nelson Eusebio, chairman of New Yorkers Against Unfair Taxes. “Legislators stood up for middle- and working-class families and defeated a discriminatory proposal that would have increased the price of groceries for New Yorkers at a time when we can least afford it.”  This is the second year in a row that Governor David Paterson has proposed a new tax on certain beverages and been met with significant resistance from legislators and a broad-based coalition of New York residents, retailers, grocers and store owners.  “This bad tax, which would have hurt working families and cost jobs, should be dead and buried for all time,” said Joseph Wojciechowski, president of Teamsters Local 812. “The Teamsters congratulate the Legislature for making the right decision, and stand ready to defeat this tax whenever and wherever it comes up in the future.”  “The Legislature’s decision to reject this job-killing tax is a victory for working men and women across New York,” said George Miranda, president of Teamsters Joint Council 16, representing 125,000 workers across the state. “The Teamsters greatly appreciate the hard work that many legislators did to help us defeat this tax, especially Speaker Silver and Senate Democratic Leader John Sampson, and look forward to working with them in the future to create more good-paying jobs and make our state stronger.”  This legislative action echoes the sentiment recently discovered in a Wall Street Journal/Marist Poll that found 63 percent of New York City residents oppose the tax and only 31 percent support it. Even 52 percent of those who do not drink the beverages targeted by the Governor’s proposal are against the tax.  “It is obvious that our elected representatives got the message: This tax was just insane,” said Frank Budwey, owner of Budwey Supermarkets and a coalition member. “We thank our customers for signing the petitions and working with us to defeat this tax. This is a victory for them, and for small businesses in New York.”  “The rejection of Governor Paterson’s billion dollar soda tax is good news for employers and consumers alike,” said Mike Elmendorf, New York State Director of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), New York and the nation’s leading small business advocacy association. “Taxes have never made people healthier; if they did, New Yorkers would be the healthiest people in America. They do make our economy unhealthier, though, and that’s precisely what this ill-advised tax increase would have done. Small business applauds the legislators in both parties who said no to this tax that would have driven up costs for small businesses and families.”  The beverage industry supports thousands of good-paying jobs in New York, totaling $6.7 billion in wages. These statewide jobs are held by hard-working New Yorkers in manufacturing, distribution and retail. The non-alcoholic beverage industry in New York state has a direct economic impact of $7 billion per year and supports an additional $18 billion in economic activity.  “The pathways to better fitness are education, exercise, and common sense – not paying a billion dollars a year in additional taxes to the State,” said James Calvin, president of the New York Association of Convenience Stores. “We’re glad the Legislature recognized the futility of imposing a tax that would needlessly chase customers from our stores to untaxed venues, draining away business and tax revenue we can’t afford to lose.”  “This proposed beverage tax was a very bad idea. The additional tax on soft drinks would have had a negative economic impact all across New York,” said Kenneth Adams, president and CEO of The Business Council of New York State, Inc. “It would amount to lost jobs and the dislocation of existing businesses.  Such a tax would raise prices on drinks leading to lost sales and jobs not only in the beverage industry but there would also be a loss in other businesses that supply these companies and sell their products.”  “Fighting this regressive beverage tax on behalf of our customers was a wonderful victory for consumers and industry alike,” said James T. Rogers, president & CEO of the Food Industry Alliance of New York State. “With New York state’s status as a legislative trend-setter, the outstanding and successful response from FIA’s members took on heightened importance.”   ### About the Coalition  Thousands of New Yorkers and hundreds of businesses and other organizations have joined New Yorkers Against Unfair Taxes to oppose this discriminatory beverage tax .
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