The Seattle City Council’s new tax on beverages directly hurts small business owners and working families in our community. Seattle small business employ nearly 1.5 million people and this job-killing tax will drive up costs and increase income inequality in Seattle.

This tax disproportionally targets low-income and minority communities by pricing hundreds of different beverages out of their reach, while exempting other drinks such as diet beverages and espresso. As a result, those who can afford this tax the least will be hurt the most.

Despite the health claims the City Council uses to justify this new tax, there’s actually no evidence that similar taxes elsewhere have improved public health. Instead, the evidence is clear that this type of regressive tax only hurts the community and drives up the cost of living.