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Political Issues/Comments / Vermont Tax on Sugary Drinks -- Thoughts ??
« on: April 01, 2015, 08:49:01 AM »Thoughts on the proposed new tax ?
What's next ? Why not a 2 Cent per ounce tax on Water Purchases ? Lot's of folks buy water .. tax them !
Micro-Breweries are popular -- Add a Specific 2 cent per ounce tax for local Beer makers ...
Another Option adopt the Washington State plan .. Pay to drive .. 2 cents per mile ...
The issue here is not enough Tax $$$$ or too much spending .. Government doesn't cut .. they add ... .So think about adding more revenue from Businesses !!!!
How about taking a look at the New York State Program that is attracting businesses and using this approach in VT ? Of course specific Industrial Zones would need to be defined. Adding New Businesses, creates an expanded tax base and also should keep some young professionals in-state. Isn't it true that VT has the oldest median age of any state ? No Jobs == Young Professionals moving to other states to find employment .. Down-ward slide needs to be fixed ..
Partial Article from the Free Press below :
MONTPELIER – A proposed tax on sugar-sweetened beverages may be seeing new life in Vermont, while prospects for new revenue from bottle deposits and a tax on grocery bags look dim.
Lawmakers have been focusing on those consumer products this week as they look for new ways to raise money and to discourage what some see as unhealthy habits. The process is far from over, with the bills still to be debated by the full House and then sent to the Senate.
Still alive, and perhaps gaining momentum as of Friday, was a 2-cents-per-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages to be paid at wholesale. It was being heard by the House Ways and Means Committee after winning support in the Health Care Committee a day earlier.
The roughly $30 million the tax is projected to raise each year would go toward increasing Medicaid payments to doctors and other health providers, with the aim of taking pressure off the rates they charge to private insurers.