[Vision2020] Latte' Tax "Creamed"

[Tim Lohrmann]

Visionaries,
     Looks like there are some tax schemes even people
on the WestSide won't tolerate. 
    TL



> Latte tax creamed; plan had been called daring,
> silly
>
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2001733043_espresso17m.html
> 
> By Beth Kaiman
> Seattle Times staff reporter
> 
> Whether it was love of latte or a belief that it was
> the wrong way to pay for day care and preschool, ,
> Seattle's Initiative 77 was soundly defeated last
> night.
> 
> By more than 2-to-1, voters rejected a 10-cent-a-cup
> tax on espresso drinks, ending a local debate and,
> perhaps, national amusement over whether Seattle
> would put a surcharge on its beloved beverage.
> 
> John Burbank, whose Economic Opportunity Institute
> in Seattle came up with the idea of connecting
> coffee with kids, blamed the loss on the opponents'
> message that the tax would hurt small-business
> owners. He said the initiative succeeded in putting
> children's issues front and center.
> 
> "This raised the public commitment to early learning
> in Seattle," he said last night.
> 
> But Cathy Allen, a Seattle political strategist for
> opponents of I-77, said the tax just never made
> sense to voters, even in a city that rarely rejects
> funding for education.
> 
> "This was not an indictment of whether or not
> Seattle wants to take care of its kids," she said.
> 
> The proposal was called daring, nervy, even silly
> — and news organizations around the country and
> the world were unable to resist the story. Footage
> from a recent anti-I-77 campaign event, a mock
> Boston Tea Party on Green Lake, made for funny
> viewing everywhere.
> 
> "From Day One, I thought we don't want to be a
> laughingstock," Allen said.
> 
> Initiative 77 proponents acknowledged that a tax on
> espresso drinks might be quirky, but they said it
> would make day care and preschool more available,
> improve the quality of teachers and staff and
> replace some programs' lost state funding. 
> 
>  They predicted the tax could raise as much as $7
> million annually and serve 5,000 children. 
> 
> A study by Seattle City Council staff members
> projected revenue at $1.8 million to $3.5 million,
> but many said an accurate prediction was difficult.
> 
> Critics said it made no sense to tax a product
> unrelated to children or education and that the tax
> would be an unfair burden on cafe owners. Starbucks
> and other big coffee companies opposed the measure,
> as did most small cafes.
> 
> Though much attention was focused on how I-77 would
> help fund programs for poor children, the initiative
> was designed to help children of all income groups.
> 
> The initiative would set aside 20 percent of the
> revenue for subsidies for low-income children, and
> if $7 million were raised in tax revenues, Burbank
> said, more than 600 children would get off a waiting
> list for programs within two to three months.
> 
> Beth Kaiman: 206-464-2441 or
> bkaiman@seattletimes.com.


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