Today a representative of the Washington State Beverage Association filed two initiative measures designed to repeal recent tax increases on certain food and beverage products adopted by the 2010 Washington State Legislature.
 
“In the last hours of the session, the State Legislature voted to increase taxes on thousands of common food and beverage products, including certain processed foods, bottled water, carbonated beverages, beer, candy and gum,” said Tim Martin, president of the Washington Beverage Association.
 
“These tax hikes amount to hundreds of millions of dollars in higher costs for Washington consumers and businesses in the years ahead. They are bad for Washington families, food processors, bottlers, grocery stores and our state's economy. We think voters should have the opportunity to vote out the costly and arbitrary food and beverage tax hikes that the Legislature voted in.”
 
Martin noted that two versions of the measure were filed, one that includes the repeal of tax increases on beer, and one that doesn’t.
 
“We haven’t decided yet which version to pursue,” said Martin. “We are just getting started.  We expect to have strong support for this initiative from taxpayers, businesses and organizations across the state.”