Latte tax

[Mad Dr Jeffe]

Im thinking about writing an editorial on this as it has my hackles raised.

Its not the tax that bothers me, nor the luxury element of it (it targets a so called sin item) but the people targeted by the tax. Seattle coffee drinkers according to starbucks and other local coffee chains are students (either college or high school). Moreover the tax targets coffee in a specific form Espresso, and not the product as a whole.  

Why should students with no children and low incomes be targeted to pay for daycare while other Washingtonians dont have to do anything. Add the 10 cents onto property tax or a prepared food tax (like here in virginia) and I would think the system was better targeted.

[Lieutenant Kije]

I don't know.  When people start spending $5 for a tall glass of coffee common sense kind of leaves the picture.  If people are willing to get gouged by Starbucks for coffee they probably won't mind getting gouged by the govt. too.  

And it might even add a sense of pride.  Seattle will really feel like the latte capital of the world if it has a latte tax.  

[Mad Dr Jeffe]

1. Latte is not a constant source of revenue...
They are trendy, and could be replaced at any time by other trendy drinks.

2. 10 cents a cup may not seem like much, but if you buy a 2 lattes every day during the work week your out almost 50 bucks a year.  

3. Lattes are too narrowly targeted... serious consideration should be given to taxing sodas or other beverages as well, with a broad base the tax could have lasting useful consequenses.

4. the money must be used for what it is levied
This is a common problem with our tax system. Excess monies generated are usually put into a slush fund and spent to use up the budget annually. Excess funds generated by the levie must be invested in bonds or some other money earning way and applied only to the purpose they were originally levied for.  

[Mad Dr Jeffe]

But ok its cost right?

Why not tax every bucket of movie popcorn and large drink.
We know they dont cost 5.25 and 4.50 each right?

Lets think about where Espresso drinks are sold. Coffee houses right, so the express reason people go to coffee houses is to get espresso drinks.

So who feels the brunt of the tax? The whole tax base equally or a select few?

Tax Milk like that and you'd have a riot, tax pizza or chocolate and people would think you were crazy, but coffee is somehow different.

Can you explain how?

I can buy a Ghiridelli chocolate bar for 5 bucks and pay 37 cents in sales tax or a 5 dollar cup of coffee and pay 47 cents in sales tax.

It makes no sense.

[Lieutenant Kije]

1. who knows, in Seattle

2. if you buy 2 lattes at $5 apiece every workday for a year you've either got money to burn or bigger problems than being out $50 a year.

3. beverages are too narrowly targeted.  Include all food.

4. I agree entirely.

I'm not disagreeing with you, really, but I still think the novelty factor is a big player in this.  It's just another way for Seattle to set itself up as Latte City.  Seattleites will buy into it.  They bought into the monorail last year.

[Mad Dr Jeffe]

what they need to do is pay state income taxes and stop creating stupid little sales taxes.

[Lieutenant Kije]

Maybe they're just gently shifting the burden of the sales tax to sales that they can collect tax on.  Right now no one has figured out how to structure and implement a tax on internet transactions, which make up a significant amount of transactions made.  Although I doubt they're being that deliberate and strategic.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

or we could all stop whinin' about it. Since no one in the discussion actually lives in Seattle and drinks their espresso.

[Lieutenant Kije]

Yeah, well you wish you did.  

[Entsuropi]

And quite apart from anything else, coffee is a ugly drink. It's like drinking sewage, except you pay for it.

If they taxed Tea, on the other hand...

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

1) You crazy brits already did tax tea. It lead to the loss of your colonies.

2) no, i've never had any desire to even visit Seatle, let alone live there. It sounds like a depressed and less refined England.

[Entsuropi]

Actually you rebelled after we reduced the tax on tea. The real beef was that westminster was taking no heed of what you guys wanted. But let it be known that Americans are the only race who get up in arms, literally, about reduced taxes being applied.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

Oh like I didn't know it was an oversimplification. But so is yours. My thought still applies. Why you taxing tea if it's so sacrosanct?

[Mad Dr Jeffe]

Entropy is in fact right, the reduction of the Tea tax led smugglers like our founding father John Adams to organise revolutionary cells as thier livelyhood relied on illiegal Dutch Tea.  

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

so you're telling me a few smugglers organized the entire revolution? nuh uh. Nope. Yes, it motivated people like that, but they had to use a larger issue to get people behind them.