What the ads say: Both the Yes on 1107 TV ads and the mailers sent to thousands of homes make several claims about a tax package the initiative would repeal.
A narrator (played by actor Michael Gregory) standing in grocery store dressed as grocer says “the new tax scheme the politicians in Olympia put on grocery items makes no sense.”
We’ll look at three of the issues raised in the ads.
– “They put new taxes on bottled water and other common beverages, on foods made with meat, fruits and vegetables…”
– “And under the politician’s absurd definition of candy, products like these organic nutrition bars (Belly Timber Survival Bars) are taxed, while real candy bars like these (Nestle’s Crunch and Twix) are exempt.”
– “Even worse, they put new taxes on food products made by Washington companies, like locally made chili and pancake mix but not on similar products made by their competitors in other states and countries.”
What the initiative will do: the 2010 session of the state Legislature raised several taxes including five covered by I-1077. The tax package:
– removed candy from the list of products exempt from the sales tax permanently.
– removed bottled water from the list of products exempt from the sales tax until July 1, 2013.
– enacted an excise tax of two cents a can on carbonated beverages until July 1, 2013.
– clarified a tax on food processors that was effected by a 2005 state supreme court decision. The court ruled that processed foods that contain meat were eligible for a special tax break enacted in 1967 to help perishable meat processors.
– clarified a tax on food processors that might have triggered a similar supreme court ruling. The legislature stated that it did not intend that a tax break for perishable fruit and vegetable processors did not apply to manufacturers that put fruit and vegetables in processed foods.
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