Caffeine drinkers protest espresso tax

About 200 people - coffee roasters, espresso bar owners and ordinary caffeine lovers - staged a protest against a proposed espresso tax in Seattle last Sunday. "I'm here on behalf of my wholesale customers who cannot afford this unfair tax," said Neal Brown, wholesale director for Zoka Coffee House in the city's Green Lake neighborhood. Initiative 77 would add a 10-cent tax to espresso drinks, raising money for preschool and day-care programs. The measure is up for a vote on Sept. 16 in Seattle.

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