Taxes

The 'Affordability' Agenda That Taxes Your Dinner

Food-related taxes are rising in popularity, though they hurt restaurants and customers—and may even fail as a revenue-raising tool.

C. Jarrett Dieterle | 8.8.2026 7:00 AM

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(Illustration: Fatima Ruiz)

Last month, as part of its 2027 budget, the D.C. Council approved a 20-cent fee on carrier-for-hire delivery services. While the fee applies to the delivery of a broad array of household goods, it has been primarily billed as a tax on food delivery, which provides a lucrative source of potential revenue for the District.

D.C.'s new delivery tax is merely the latest example of governments targeting food with stealth tax increases in an effort to enhance government coffers. While the strategy may be tempting as a revenue grab, the losers are everyday Americans who are simply looking for a politician that actually can deliver on an affordability agenda.

D.C.'s delivery tax is expected to raise $9 million annually in revenue, according to Brianne Nadeau, the councilmember pushing the tax. Nadeau argued that the tax would not be passed on to consumers but would rather be paid by the large delivery companies themselves. "These are multimillion, billion-dollar companies that can absorb 20 cents," Nadeau told DC News Now. "What we need is for them to actually get it together to create a system where you don't need to be wealthy to order food........

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