Guess who doesn’t want cities across Washington to be able to tax soda and raise a bunch of money so they can pay for education? The Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo Inc., Keurig Dr Pepper, and Red Bull North America. These giant drink companies have dropped more than $13 million to back this initiative, which would block cities other than Seattle from taxing “any raw or processed food or beverage, or any ingredient thereof, intended for human consumption.”
Proponents are framing the initiative as a way of preventing local governments from taxing “groceries,” but in the state of Washington, it’s already illegal to tax “most grocery type food.” The only “grocery type foods” we can slap sales taxes on, according to the state Department of Revenue, are “prepared food, soft drinks, or dietary supplements.” The state already has to keep its hands off your broccoli.
