In the past few years, soda tax proposals have failed in more than 30 states and cities across the country. Poll after poll shows that these taxes are unpopular with voters.

Alabamians and local business are the latest to confront a possible attempt to force an unwanted soda tax on them. Like the rest of the American public, Alabamians don’t want legislators to tax common grocery items like beverages.

Raising taxes and grocery bills hurts consumers, especially low-income families. It harms small local businesses and costs jobs. Kenny Smith, owner of L&S Foodland in Ardmore, says in a press release that a beverage tax like the one proposed in Alabama would cost him both sales and customers since his store is only a mile from Tennessee.

“We operate on the state line. This tax will be detrimental to our business and our customers who will just travel to Tennessee to buy their groceries,” he wrote.

Local businesses are not alone. Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard thinks a beverage tax is nothing more than a money grab for government spending.

“Rather than just picking out and say we’ll do this because it can generate this amount of money... [a soda tax is] the wrong way to look at tax policy,” he said. “I don’t like picking winners and losers. I don’t think that’s what we need to be doing.”

Well said. Beverage taxes are just a bad policy.

Learn more about the people and small businesses who are fighting the Alabama beverage tax at StoptheAlabamaBeverageTax.com.