For Immediate Release
July 23, 2009                                                                                                     

Contact:  Lizette Jenness Olmos
(202) 833-6130 ext. 16

Lulac Fully Supports Hardworking Americans

Opposes all efforts federally and on the state level to impose taxes on food and/or non-alcoholic beverages

Washington, DC – The League of United Latin American Citizens passed the resolution opposing taxes on food and non-alcoholic beverages last Saturday at the LULAC national assembly in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

“In these tough economic times we do not want to be taxing the people who would be directly impacted in the local communities,” said LULAC National President Rosa Rosales.  “We will make sure that these hardworking Americans retain their tenuous hold on financial security by shielding them from even more burdensome new food and/or beverage taxes.”

2009 Resolution states:

WHEREAS this global recession has spread economic stress across all income levels, with lower and middle-income Americans especially hard hit;

WHEREAS a frugal lifestyle and stretching the daily living expenses is a necessity for hardworking lower and middle income Americans;

WHEREAS governments should address budget shortfalls with a prudent combination of budget reductions and fair and broad-based revenue generators, not discriminatory taxes on food and/or non-alcoholic beverages;

WHEREAS the food and beverage tax burden on the lowest earning fifth of the population is already six times greater than the food and beverage tax burden on the highest earning fifth (US Department of Labor Consumer Expenditure Surveys 2007);

WHEREAS it is vital that public policy makers help hardworking Americans retain their tenuous hold on financial security by shielding them from even more burdensome new food and/or beverage taxes; and

WHEREAS food and beverage expenditures represent a significantly higher share of household spending for these lower and middle-income Americans, rendering any proposed food and beverage taxes extremely regressive.
The League of the United Latin American Citizens advances the economic condition, educational attainment, political influence, health and civil rights of Hispanic Americans through community-based programs operating at more than 700 LULAC councils nationwide.

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