Soda Tax Heats Up in San Francisco

In November, voters will decide on a penny-per-ounce tax on sugar sweetened beverages.

September 30, 2016

SAN FRANCISCO – San Francisco voters will consider a tax on sugar-sweetened drinks this November, The Associated Press/Seattle Times reports. The penny-per-ounce tax would be levied on sugary soft drinks, sports drinks and bottled teas.

Opponents are gearing up to defeat the measure they claim will hurt small businesses and consumers, and lead to higher costs on other goods. They also say that city leaders haven’t fenced any potential funds from such a tax to go to health programs, leaving the money garnered by the tax to be used for other programs.

However, supporters of the measure see the Bay Area as a bellwether of the future of taxing soda. “Not long ago, it would have been unthinkable to tax soda, and now, not only are we thinking about it, we’re doing it,” said Lawrence Gostin, a global health law professor at Georgetown University.

The battle has become larger partly because of campaigning on both sides of the issue. The American Beverage Association has used nearly $10 million in TV ads against the measure, while former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has given $1.7 million to help promote the tax to voters.

Two years ago, San Francisco voters defeated a similar proposal. Voters in nearby Oakland, Calif., and Boulder, Colo., will also consider a soda tax this election. Berkeley, Calif., okayed a penny-per-ounce sugared soft drink tax two years ago, and a recent study found that soda consumption fell in low-income communities. This past June, Philadelphia passed a similar measure that included diet drinks as well, but the American Beverage Association has filed a lawsuit to halt implementation of that law.

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