Fill out this simple form with your information and that’s it! Membership is completely free. You’ll receive emails that share updates and information on how you can support D.C.’s small businesses.

As part of a larger coalition, your voice will be amplified and therefore able to make a difference for the greater good.

Locally owned businesses receive:

1. Access to resources like grant applications and deadlines, with updates delivered to your inbox.
2. Placement on our member map, where customers can find your business hours and contact information.
3. The opportunity to be featured on our social media channels.

We’ve seen the detrimental effect that similar taxes have had across the country — just look at Philadelphia. According to a study by Oxford Economics, Philadelphia has lost nearly 1,200 jobs and experienced $80 million in local economic losses since their beverage tax went into effect. Philly residents took their grocery dollars to stores located right outside the city, causing Philly-based businesses to close.

Similarly, in Cook County, Illinois (home of Chicago), stores near the county border saw the worst decline. A total of 75% of Cook County retailers surveyed had beverage sale declines of 20%. All for a tax that researchers say does not curb consumption.

In Seattle, the price of several non-taxed sugar-free beverages also increased, including diet soda, diet energy drinks, bottled tea, and prepared coffee.

You do! The tax increase gets passed onto consumers, hidden in the prices of everyday grocery items. Excise taxes hurt working families the most. The cost of living in Washington, D.C. is already among the highest in the nation, and hard-working families don’t need yet another financial burden.

Given that D.C. ended 2020 with a budget surplus of $526 million, we don’t need another tax. D.C. needs support.

Low-income communities have less money to spend on groceries generally, in addition to fewer food and beverage options. Charging them more for their limited choices in food deserts with limited transportation options won’t change their buying behavior; it just means they will be stuck paying more for the same items available to them.

The road to pandemic recovery will be long and unpredictable. So far, the D.C. government has been generous in helping small businesses through programs like the Streatery Winter-Ready Grant Program and The Bridge Fund. These grants and loans have been necessary for keeping local businesses afloat. A tax that specifically targets the small businesses that the D.C. government is providing life support to is nonsensical and self-defeating.

The Alliance for an Affordable D.C. hopes that D.C. Council will act in the interest of small businesses and working families in D.C. as we navigate the city’s recovery together.

Taxes on common grocery items like beverages have never really improved public health. In Mexico, obesity rates have increased since the imposition of a beverage tax there. And a tax in Berkeley, Calif., led to an increase in calories consumed from untaxed high-fat beverages.