Less Cash For You, Fewer Treats For Your Pets
When local leaders pitch a new 1% sales tax for transportation, they package it with glossy brochures, hopeful slogans, and promises of equity and infrastructure. But behind the sales pitch lies an uncomfortable truth: this tax isn’t just about trains and traffic. It’s about taxing the everyday lives of working families...even down to the food and treats we buy for our pets.
Yes, that’s right. If this transportation tax passes, you’ll be paying more to feed your dog.
Dog Food, Cat Treats, and Kitty Litter — Now a Transit Revenue Source
Under North Carolina law, sales tax applies broadly to retail goods, and the proposed 1% increase would apply across the board. That includes:
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🐶 Dog food and cat food
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🦴 Treats and chews
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🐕 Leashes, collars, and harnesses
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🧼 Pet shampoo and flea control
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🐾 Kitty litter and litter boxes
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🩺 Pet supplements and health products
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🐹 Even hamster cages and birdseed
Pet ownership isn’t a luxury for most families; it’s part of the fabric of home life. And with costs already rising due to inflation, rent, and groceries, this additional tax quietly adds more pressure to households that are already budgeting every dollar.
Who Feels It Most? Working Families.
Charlotte’s wealthy elite may not notice a few extra dollars here or there. But for single parents, retirees on fixed incomes, gig workers, and low-income households, every dollar matters.
In Mecklenburg County, a working-class family with two dogs could easily spend $600–$1,000 a year on basic pet needs. Tripling the transit tax means they’ll pay an extra $6–$10 each year, just to feed and care for their pets. That's a lot more than just a penny.
And what do they get in return?
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No guarantees of expanded service in their neighborhood
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No binding plan for how the money will be spent
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No safeguards against waste or mismanagement
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Just more promises. Again.
25 Years of Promises, No Red Line
The truth is, Charlotte has already had 25 years to get this right.
They’ve taken transit tax money before. They promised the Red Line to North Mecklenburg in the 1990s. They’ve pitched reform after reform. And today? Not a single Red Line train runs. Buses have been cut. Routes have vanished. Transit-dependent communities have been displaced, not served.
Even At-Large Commissioner Leigh Altman recently admitted:
“Charlotte couldn't deliver it.”
Let that sink in. A government that publicly acknowledges its failure now wants even more of your money, including a tax on your pet’s food?
It’s Not About Transit. It’s About Trust.
Pet owners are among the most loyal people you’ll find. We feed our animals before we feed ourselves. We go out in the rain, snow, and blazing sun to make sure they get walked. We work overtime to pay for emergency vet bills.
What we don’t do is keep falling for empty promises.
A 1% sales tax on pet products might seem small on paper. But it’s a symptom of a larger failure: elected officials that continue to ask for more without ever delivering results.
If they can’t honor a 25-year-old promise about trains, why should we believe this one will be any different?