With state legislatures meeting amid budget crises, the Americans Against Food Taxes group has started running a semi-new TV advocacy ad. The spot, “Give Me a Break,” is excellent. Conclusion: “Government needs to trim its budget fat and leave our grocery budgets alone.”
A different version ran in the fall, aimed at voters and candidates.
- Jan. 3, NACS Online, “Vermont Group Pushes for Soda Tax“
- Jan. 19, The Lund Report, “Soda Tax on the Menu for Oregon Legislature“
- Associated Press, Jan. 25, “Abercrombie pitches soda tax in State of the State“
And credit where credit is due, that is, to the recently appointed New York Health Commissioner and the man who appointed him, Gov. Andrew Cuomo. From The New York Daily News, Jan. 25, “New Health Commissioner Nirav Shah says he won’t push for soda ‘fat tax’“:
ALBANY – Have a Coke and a smile: the state’s new health commissioner said Monday he has no plans to push for a “fat tax” on soda.
Dr. Nirav Shah, who was confirmed unanimously by the state Senate, said later that Gov. Cuomo’s no-new-taxes pledge extends to soda and other sugary drinks “at this time.”
Ex-Gov. David Paterson and Shah’s predecessor, Richard Daines, were staunch supporters of the fat tax as a way to combat childhood obesity. The Legislature rejected the idea.
2 Trackbacks / Pingbacks for this entry
February 3rd, 2011 on 5:51 am
[...] Editorial Page Editor Needs to Get Out More, Meet His Neighbors Posted by: Carter Wood under General, Media Relations, Taxation on February 3, 2011 @ 5:51 am James Lawrence, editorial page editor of the Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle, is annoyed at a new TV ad campaign that protests plans to raise taxes on beverages. Perhaps his pique comes from the ad’s effectiveness, its punchy “give me a break” message to government officials: Cut your own budgets, and let me make my own spending decisions. We like it. [...]
February 1st, 2011 on 12:12 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by HT and MEGADON INTL LTD., Manufacturers Assoc.. Manufacturers Assoc. said: #Mfg Blog: On Food and Beverage Taxes: Give Me a Break – With state legislatures meeting amid budget crises, the Ame… http://ow.ly/1b6WyB [...]