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A Proposed Beverage Tax Will Hurt Rhode Island’s Working Families And Small Businesses
Legislation to tax everyday beverages 1.5 cents per ounce has been introduced in Rhode Island. A beverage tax will burden working families and employees and put pressure on small businesses.
Meet the Coalition
Tanya Veiga, Manager, Galito Restaurant, Pawtucket RI
“There are better ways to address food and security than a tax that will hurt working families and cost jobs. We just can’t afford that.”
We’re a coalition of individuals and small, local businesses fighting to keep many everyday drinks affordable for working families and help small businesses stay afloat
See how a beverage tax would impact Rhode Island families, small businesses, and employees
Meet the RI residents, advocates, and small businesses that make up our coalition
The Impact of a Beverage Tax
How would a beverage tax impact Rhode Island?
Beverage taxes hurt working families, small businesses and employees the most.
- Hard-working Rhode Islanders will struggle to afford common grocery items such as coffee drinks, sports drinks, teas, sodas, energy drinks and certain fruit drinks.
- There are more than 4,200 local grocery workers in Rhode Island who are already facing so much uncertainty due to COVID-19. A beverage tax would only make that uncertainty worse.
- A beverage tax would lead to a loss of at least $100 million in Rhode Island retail and restaurant sales annually, with millions more in sales tax revenue lost.
If passed, many residents will drive across the state border to do their shopping in Connecticut and Massachusetts where there is no beverage tax, hurting local businesses and depriving the state of revenue.
The cost of living is already too high for working families in Rhode Island. This tax will make things even more expensive, putting even more pressure on our household budgets.
BOTTOM LINE: Rhode Island families, small businesses and employees cannot afford a costly new tax.
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