CHICAGO, IL (Michael Carroll, Illinois News Network. Please click on the link for the full story. Here is an excerpt below.)
Retailers are seeing sharp declines in sales and have laid off employees as a result of Cook County’s new tax on sweetened beverages, which took effect last month.
“It’s affecting us big time,” said Bill Daker, president of Cool Mountain Beverages Inc. in Des Plaines, which markets specialty sodas in the region. “Retailers have stopped taking in any kinds of new brands.”
During the first week of the tax taking effect, sales data from 21 stores in Cook County show declines of 6 percent to 39 percent. Declines in Cook County border areas are among the most pronounced, according to the Can the Tax Coalition, as many county residents seem to be opting to purchase sweetened beverages and other grocery items in neighboring counties or even Indiana. Stores in border areas have reported a jump in beverage sales.
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