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Buzz Kill: Seattle Residents Vote on 'Latte Tax' Today
Aired September 16, 2003 - 06:16 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Time now, though, for a little business buzz and a little coffee kick, too. After today, the city that brought us Starbucks could be paying more for its own espresso. Things are getting pretty frothy in Seattle.
Let's go live to the Nasdaq market site and Carrie Lee to get more on this.
Good morning.
CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Seattle residents facing a very tough choice today. In today's primary election in the city, voters are going to decide whether or not to accept a tax on their Java for the betterment of Seattle children. Now Seattle is, of course, famously known for its coffee shops. It's the home of the chain Starbucks. Also houses hundreds of locally run shops.
The city has proposed a plan called Initiative 77, which would slap on a 10-cent tax on drinks that contain espresso, and then that tax would go to funding programs for children. Now these programs will expand the pre-kindergarten program for children from low-income families. They would also subsidize some wages for daycare workers. And this "Latte Tax," as they are calling it, could mean a lot of funding. Seattle officials are estimating $7 million a year.
Of course there are opponents as well, Carol. No surprise that Starbucks is a part of the opposition. The company contributed $50,000 to JOLT. That stands for Joined in Opposition to the Latte Tax. Regular coffee not taxed, as I said, any drink containing espresso. We'll see what happens when the voting starts today.
COSTELLO: Boy, they usually tax cigarettes, now they are moving on to coffee.
LEE: Right. And you know people say it's for a good cause, that people can afford it, some people say this. Other people say I want my Java, leave me alone. It will be interesting to see the outcome.
COSTELLO: I can understand that.
I know the Fed is meeting today. What can we expect?
LEE: Well so far futures look pretty good at the open. We could see a little bit of a gain at the open. Futures look higher. The Federal Reserve meets today. We'll get the decision on interest rates at about 2:15 Eastern, as usual, expecting to leave rates unchanged. Of course people paying close attention to see if there is any indication about rate changes going forward. That's really the crux of it.
Also we'll be watching General Mills this morning, out with profits for the recent quarter. And analysts are expecting profits to have ticked a bit higher from the year ago period -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right. Carrie Lee live at the Nasdaq market site for us from New York City.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired September 16, 2003 - 06:16 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Time now, though, for a little business buzz and a little coffee kick, too. After today, the city that brought us Starbucks could be paying more for its own espresso. Things are getting pretty frothy in Seattle.
Let's go live to the Nasdaq market site and Carrie Lee to get more on this.
Good morning.
CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Seattle residents facing a very tough choice today. In today's primary election in the city, voters are going to decide whether or not to accept a tax on their Java for the betterment of Seattle children. Now Seattle is, of course, famously known for its coffee shops. It's the home of the chain Starbucks. Also houses hundreds of locally run shops.
The city has proposed a plan called Initiative 77, which would slap on a 10-cent tax on drinks that contain espresso, and then that tax would go to funding programs for children. Now these programs will expand the pre-kindergarten program for children from low-income families. They would also subsidize some wages for daycare workers. And this "Latte Tax," as they are calling it, could mean a lot of funding. Seattle officials are estimating $7 million a year.
Of course there are opponents as well, Carol. No surprise that Starbucks is a part of the opposition. The company contributed $50,000 to JOLT. That stands for Joined in Opposition to the Latte Tax. Regular coffee not taxed, as I said, any drink containing espresso. We'll see what happens when the voting starts today.
COSTELLO: Boy, they usually tax cigarettes, now they are moving on to coffee.
LEE: Right. And you know people say it's for a good cause, that people can afford it, some people say this. Other people say I want my Java, leave me alone. It will be interesting to see the outcome.
COSTELLO: I can understand that.
I know the Fed is meeting today. What can we expect?
LEE: Well so far futures look pretty good at the open. We could see a little bit of a gain at the open. Futures look higher. The Federal Reserve meets today. We'll get the decision on interest rates at about 2:15 Eastern, as usual, expecting to leave rates unchanged. Of course people paying close attention to see if there is any indication about rate changes going forward. That's really the crux of it.
Also we'll be watching General Mills this morning, out with profits for the recent quarter. And analysts are expecting profits to have ticked a bit higher from the year ago period -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right. Carrie Lee live at the Nasdaq market site for us from New York City.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
