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<\/a><\/p>\nBy PDX People<\/span><\/p>\n In Portland we love our coffee just as much as we love our craft beer and it\u2019s not uncommon for politicians to find new ways of taxing the things that we consume on a regular basis including their latest proposal, House Bill 2875, which would impose a five cent per pound tax on wholesale coffee in Oregon.<\/span><\/p>\n Funds raised from this new tax would go toward establishing the \u201cAlternative Education Sustainability Fund.\u201d Half of those funds would go toward the\u00a0Oregon Military Department\u00a0to be used in the\u00a0Oregon National Guard Youth Challenge Program. The other half would fund grants\u00a0for Oregon school districts that operate alternative high school programs, as well as primary schools.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Schools that operate alternative high school programs and primary schools would be able to apply for those grants from the\u00a0Oregon Department of Education. If awarded, the grant money could be used for \u201ccost of operations and capital construction\u201d of alternative high school programs and primary school reading programs.<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Even though Oregon, like California, faces a billion dollar budget gap, the reality is that this coffee tax may not pass because coffee is something that most people in Portland, and across Oregon, consume on a regular basis and once business owners have to pay higher costs for their coffee they would ultimately have to pass those costs on down to their customers.<\/span><\/p>\nWhere Would The Money Go?<\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n
$1.8 Billion Budget Gap<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n