Yesterday, Democrats killed a common sense repeal of a stupid tax on, simply put, pizza boxes in Colorado. House Bill 1009 would have gotten rid of what amounts to a double taxation for Colorado’s families on items that restaurants and food providers are taxed on such as packaging, sauce packets, straws, napkins, and containers. The tax was part of the Dirty Dozen taxes passed in 2010.

Here is a video of Van Winkle and Minority Leader Patrick Neville explaining all the items that are taxed at a McDonalds, for example:

The Denver Post did an in-depth story on the issue and explained that “a quirk in Colorado tax law, introduced in 2010, began charging sales taxes on food-related items deemed “nonessential” to the consumption of a meal — a broad and, at times, confusing category that includes napkins, nonreusable grocery bags, condiment packets and some kinds of containers, but not others.”

An example the Post cited was that if a consumer bought ketchup or mustard at the grocery store, it would be tax-free as food is not taxed at the state level in Colorado; however, if a McDonalds worker throws ketchup packets in with your fries, the ketchup is taxed.

According to a press release sent by the State House GOP, around 80% of Colorado restaurants are small businesses, and the restaurant industry makes up the second largest private industry in the state. According to the Post, this tax costs a typical restaurant $5,000 to $7,000 per year. That’s a significant number for a small business.  Remember this party-line vote when Democratic leadership claims to be proponents of families and small businesses. Democrats’ actions just don’t deliver.