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CNN Live At Daybreak
Attempts to Levy Tax on Coffee in New York City
Aired February 16, 2004 - 05:17 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: The idea of a tax on coffee is back. It was killed by voters in Seattle last year.
But as CNN's Adaora Udoji reports, it could make a comeback in New York City.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Among the fabled streets of New York City, fancy lattes are a way of life and taxes are a dirty word.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's already expensive enough.
UDOJI: But in this day and age, when cities are struggling to make ends meet, something's got to give.
(on camera): New York City's Independent Budget Office, a non- partisan group, has made a few suggestions -- 70 of them, including a $0.10 a cup latte tax.
RONNIE LOWENSTEIN, NEW YORK CITY INDEPENDENT BUDGET OFFICE: This is all about trade-offs. Nobody wants to raise taxes. Nobody wants to cut services. But budgets are about doing just that.
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: No 77!
UDOJI (voice-over): But a latte tax? Remember what happened in Seattle? Mad voters clobbered the idea by three to one. In New York?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think we'll stand for that.
UDOJI: No hesitation there. So how about taxing botox shots or anything else in the city's blooming billion dollar cosmetic enhancement business?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you have the money to pay for cosmetic surgery, you have the money to pay the extra tax.
UDOJI: But that works two ways, says the Tax Foundation's Scott Hodge, who calls it a dumb idea.
SCOTT HODGE, THE TAX FOUNDATION: Let's face it, if you can afford a $10,000 plastic surgery procedure, you can afford to drive over the bridge to New Jersey to have it done at a cheaper price.
UDOJI: Hodge says cities need to think about cutting spending. But New Yorkers don't worry. It's an election year and the mayor has already dismissed the idea. MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK: We're not going to raise those kinds of taxes.
UDOJI: Perhaps that means the notion of something like a latte tax, at least for now, as they say in New York, will be swimming with the fishes.
Adaora Udoji, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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 February 16, 2004 - 05:17 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The idea of a tax on coffee is back. It was killed by voters in Seattle last year.
But as CNN's Adaora Udoji reports, it could make a comeback in New York City.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Among the fabled streets of New York City, fancy lattes are a way of life and taxes are a dirty word.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's already expensive enough.
UDOJI: But in this day and age, when cities are struggling to make ends meet, something's got to give.
(on camera): New York City's Independent Budget Office, a non- partisan group, has made a few suggestions -- 70 of them, including a $0.10 a cup latte tax.
RONNIE LOWENSTEIN, NEW YORK CITY INDEPENDENT BUDGET OFFICE: This is all about trade-offs. Nobody wants to raise taxes. Nobody wants to cut services. But budgets are about doing just that.
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: No 77!
UDOJI (voice-over): But a latte tax? Remember what happened in Seattle? Mad voters clobbered the idea by three to one. In New York?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think we'll stand for that.
UDOJI: No hesitation there. So how about taxing botox shots or anything else in the city's blooming billion dollar cosmetic enhancement business?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you have the money to pay for cosmetic surgery, you have the money to pay the extra tax.
UDOJI: But that works two ways, says the Tax Foundation's Scott Hodge, who calls it a dumb idea.
SCOTT HODGE, THE TAX FOUNDATION: Let's face it, if you can afford a $10,000 plastic surgery procedure, you can afford to drive over the bridge to New Jersey to have it done at a cheaper price.
UDOJI: Hodge says cities need to think about cutting spending. But New Yorkers don't worry. It's an election year and the mayor has already dismissed the idea. MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK: We're not going to raise those kinds of taxes.
UDOJI: Perhaps that means the notion of something like a latte tax, at least for now, as they say in New York, will be swimming with the fishes.
Adaora Udoji, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
