Philadelphia set to OK soda tax despite industry opposition

The American Beverage Association described the soft drink tax as “discriminatory and highly unpopular”.

That change in strategy could prove to be a watershed moment for the soda-tax movement. The group has said Philadelphia’s passage of the tax resulted from local political conditions and was unlikely to have a ripple effect in other cities.

A city council committee voted on June 8 to approve the tax, which is earmarked to fund expanded pre-K and community schools, as well as improvements for the city’s parks, libraries and recreation centers.

“It also is taxing a product that we know is unhealthy and therefore is sending a strong message to folks that consuming less sugary drinks is going to be good for them”, he said.

Wolfson declined to specify an amount that Bloomberg was willing to spend on the San Francisco and Oakland efforts, but noted that he was “not in a position to match soda dollar for dollar”.

The City Council in Philadelphia approved the measure on June 16, becoming the first city to do so after Berkeley, California, enacted a similar law past year.

US soda consumption fell for the 11th straight year in 2015, according to Euromonitor data.

So far, the tax is levied on distributors at 1.5 cents per ounce sold to dealers for the objective of resale in Philadelphia, which may eventually affect the price of the products for the consumer. His efforts were ultimately rejected, with critics decrying the moves toward a “nanny state”.

The National Automatic Merchandising Association, headquartered in Chicago, was part of a coalition that worked to oppose the tax.

That approach never worked in Philadelphia. He was unable to push it through the city council. Hillary Clinton favoured the tax as it will raid community funds, while Bernie Sanders came out against the measure because he said it would hit the poor the hardest, according to the Post. A spokeswoman said complex state laws on taxation made enacting a citywide soda tax the best option to raise revenue for that signature proposal.

Bloomberg personally contributed funding to support Philadelphia’s pro-tax campaigners. The No Philly Grocery Tax group had a big display on the plaza with stacks of drinks and graphs showing how much consumers will have to pay.

The soda industry is expected to sue.

However, despite the fervent opposition, the framing of the tax makes it hard to deny-Philadelphia is a city that has a significant amount of its population facing poverty, and the tax could help alleviate that problem by providing access to education and community resources. Barring legal challenges, the tax will go into effect January 1.