DFL Bill Places New Fee on Amazon, Food Deliveries
Democrats will find anything to tax, despite a record $17.5 billion budget surplus. They want your social security money, your lawn mower, and now your food delivery. Bills making their way through the Minnesota legislature aim to place a $0.75 fee on Amazon and prepared food deliveries like DoorDash and UberEats (HF580) as well as rides from rideshare services such as Uber and Lyft (HF2882).
In Democrats’ own words, they are finding “creative new ways” to take more of your money, and this so-called Amazon fee is one of the many tax-raising proposals currently floating around in St. Paul.
Minnesota’s business community is not on board. Pizza Luce, a popular pizza parlor in the Twin Cities Metro area offers free delivery in order to compete with the big chains like Domino's and Pizza Hut, but the CEO says that will no longer be possible with this new bill.
“How is it fair that the delivery of a $3,000 bike, couch or washing machine in a 10-ton box truck pays the same as an $11 hoagie sandwich delivered in the 3,000-pound compact car?” said Pizza Luce CEO J.J. Haywood. “This fee is regressive, impacting our guests and delivery employees.”
A letter sent from 14 different business organizations in Minnesota such as the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, the state License Beverage Association, the Retail Association and the Grocers Association detailed many issues with the food and delivery fees citing “insurmountable challenges.”
Minnesotans are already heavily taxed and in a time of record inflation, every bit counts. The last thing the Legislature should be doing is imposing MORE costs. They should instead be looking for relief. The state government has a $17.5 billion budget surplus. Surely some of that money can be used to fix the roads instead of taking it from us. When will it stop?