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Costco Fights Back on Seattle Sugar Tax With New Signage Above Drinks

By Kimberly Smith January 19, 2018 at 1:11pm

A Costco Wholeseale in Seattle has come up with a way to fight back against an outrageous sugar tax, and it is ingenious.

The store has placed signs above products that are affected by the tax and told customers where they can find the items outside city limits for a much cheaper price.

The sugar tax, which went into effect at the beginning of the year, is 35 cents on a 20-ounce bottle of any sugary beverage.

The price of those drinks almost doubles when they are bought in bulk. For example, a 35-bottle variety pack of Gatorade goes for $15.99. However, the new tax raised the price to $26.33, KING-TV reported.

If you think that is an insane amount of money to pay for taxes, you are not alone. Costco thinks it is excessive, too, and it has taken the initiative to inform customers of better prices outside the city.

Holy sugary drink tax! Finally saw this w/ my own eyes. $10.34 of tax on a pack of Gatorade @Costco in #Seattle. 💸

Costco also reminding you hey – no tax on this outside the city. Thoughts?? @KIRO7Seattle pic.twitter.com/xN2C4Csoe7

— Deedee Sun (@DeedeeKIRO7) January 5, 2018

The tax applies to any non-alcoholic beverage that lists any caloric-based sweetener as an ingredient. That includes many juice-based drinks.

John McKay, chief operating officer for Costco’s Northern Division, said the money adds up quickly.

“When it expresses itself as a penny and three quarters, the tax is not a big deal,” he told the Seattle Times. However, he added, the tax becomes significantly more onerous when you begin adding up ounces.

Do you think Costco made the right decision by informing customers about lower prices?

“We feel an obligation to let people know what (the tax) is, and let people know it’s only in Seattle,” he said. “Our real intent was to educate members.”

The new 1.75 cents-an-ounce tax was enacted to encourage healthy eating habits, as well as raise revenue for nutrition and education programs, the Times reported in December 2017.

As usual, the government thinks it has the right to force people how to live.

The Times reported that most of the money raised from the tax would not go toward the Fresh Bucks program, which provides low-income families with vouchers to buy fruits and vegetables at farmers markets and some grocery stores.

However, most of the money, a whopping $1.5 million, is expected to go to administrative costs for the program, while about $400,000 is aimed at the program itself.

Kudos to Costco for fighting back against this ludicrous tax.

H/T Independent Journal Review

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