Kohl-Welles to introduce gum, candy tax

Sen. Lisa Brown said the idea behind the income tax “isn’t to fool anybody,” she said. She said the idea isn’t to start out for high-earners and then move down to middle- and low-income families.

She said middle class and low-income families already pay their share of taxes and that the budget cuts and existing sales tax over the next two years would mean that those residents would be disproportionately negatively affected.

Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles said she’s introducing a bill today or tomorrow to add a sales tax to candy and gum. The money would go toward children’s healthcare and immunizations.

She told reporters to keep in mind that any bills introduced this session are alive next session. She said she didn’t expect her bill to have any success this year.

Tags: Budget, income tax, tax