With the Chicago-area soda tax falling apart after only a few months, could the same soon happen to a similar sweetened beverage tax in Philadelphia? A new survey from the city’s Controller claims that the majority of retail businesses in the city have been harmed by the tax. [More]
soda tax
Chicago-Area Soda Tax Fails After Only A Few Months
By 10.11.17
Cook County, IL, which includes the city of Chicago, recently became the largest local government in the country to successfully impose a tax on sweetened beverages. Now the same County Board of Commissioners that approved the tax has repealed it, only a few months after it went into effect. [More]
USDA Says Chicago Soda Tax Puts $87M In Federal Food Stamp Funding At Risk
By 8.11.17
A controversial tax on sweetened beverages in Chicago is putting the entire state of Illinois at risk for losing millions in federal funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, commonly referred to as food stamps), according to a warning sent by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to state regulators. [More]
Walgreens Charged Soda Tax On Unsweetened Beverages
By 8.8.17
It’s only been a few days since Chicago’s tax on sodas and other sweet drinks went into effect, and already some Illinois residents are claiming they’ve been charged improperly for drinks that don’t contain any sweeteners. [More]
Appeals Court: Sorry, Still No Soda Tax For You, Chicago
By 7.11.17
Cook County, which encompasses the city of Chicago and a bunch of its suburbs, passed a $.01 per ounce tax on sweetened beverages last year. The tax was supposed to go into effect on July 1, but a state judge put a temporary restraining order in place that keeps the tax from going into effect, though certain McDonald’s restaurants didn’t get the memo. Now a state appeals court has upheld the decision, leaving drinks untaxed for now. [More]
Court Halts Chicago Soda Tax, But Some McDonald’s Restaurants Didn’t Get The Message
By 7.5.17
Only hours before a new tax on sweetened beverages was set to kick in, an Illinois judge issued a temporary injunction keeping it from going into effect. However, not everyone got that message and some McDonald’s customers in the Chicago area were charged a tax they shouldn’t have paid. [More]
Seattle City Council Passes Soda Tax That Doesn’t Include Diet Drinks
By 6.7.17
Taxes on sweetened beverages are a hot new trend among cities, sweeping progressive spots like Philadelphia, San Francisco, Oakland, the Chicago area, Boulder, and now Seattle. Like other cities, Seattle will charge the tax at the distributor level, but it will not include “diet” drinks with non-nutritive sweeteners. [More]
State Lawmakers Push Back Against Philadelphia Soda Tax
By 2.6.17
The beverage industry’s efforts to derail Philadelphia’s new controversial tax on sweetened drinks have thus far been unsuccessful, leading to higher prices and unhappy customers when the tax went into effect on Jan. 1. Now, dozens of state lawmakers are going after the city’s tax, calling it an “impermissible sales tax” that “sets a dangerous precedent.” [More]
People In Philadelphia Aren’t Psyched Over New Soda Tax
By 1.4.17
With the start of the new year comes the start of several new laws, including a tax on sugary drinks in Philadelphia. While shoppers knew the extra cost was coming, that hasn’t stop them from being surprised when they set that bottle of soda on the checkout counter. [More]
Controversial Soda Tax Coming To Chicago After County Board Vote
By 11.10.16
Two days after voters in four different cities approved local taxes on sugary beverages, the county board for Cook County, IL – home to Chicago — has narrowly okayed a $.01/ounce tax, making this the largest single market to try to curb obesity while fattening the municipal coffers. [More]
Four Cities Approve Sugary-Drink Taxes
By 11.9.16
For residents in four U.S. cities, it’s about to get more expensive to buy soda or other sugary drinks after voters okayed new taxes on these beverages. [More]
Beverage Industry Takes Philadelphia To Court Over Soda Tax
By 9.14.16
A few months back, the city of Philadelphia became just the second city in the U.S. to successfully pass a tax specifically on soft drinks, adding $.015/ounce to the price a distributor pays for sodas — including diet drinks — and other sweetened beverages. As expected, the beverage industry has fired back with a lawsuit challenging this tax, alleging that it illegally duplicates a state tax and diminishes the purchasing power of low-income Philadelphia residents. [More]
Here’s What You Should Know About Philadelphia’s New Tax On Soda
By 6.17.16 — Updated: 1.4.17
Philadelphia is just the second municipality in the United States (after Berkleley, CA) to pass a tax on sugary beverages, though dozens of places have tried it. Well, okay, but what does that mean for soda drinkers in Philadelphia, and could your city or county be next? [More]
No Tax On Sugary Drinks In California After State Assembly Committee Vote
By 5.13.15
California lawmakers trying to get a $0.02 tax imposed on sodas and other sugary drinks in the state have come up empty, after the proposed measure failed to pass an Assembly committee. Supporters said the law would help curb high rates of obesity and diabetes, while some critics said it wouldn’t properly address health issues and would hit low-income residents the hardest. [More]
California City Votes In The Nation’s First Soda Tax
By 11.5.14
Soda will now come with the nation’s first-ever tax on sugary drinks in Berkeley, CA, after the city became our nation’s first to pass such a law last night. More than three-quarters of voters cast their ballots in favor of the measure, which will put a tax of $0.01 per ounce on sugary drinks. [More]
Two California Cities Trying To Pass Laws That Would Tax Sugary Drinks By The Ounce
By 7.8.14
Now that the crusade against soda and other sugary drinks has been effectively quashed in New York City, two West Coast municipalities are trying to take up the torch. San Francisco and Berkeley are trying to become the first cities in the U.S. to pass per-ounce taxes on sugary drinks, and the industry is paying attention. [More]
A Case For Charging Manufacturers A Soda Tax Instead Of Consumers
By 12.7.11
Make someone pay more for something, and perhaps they will complain and buy less of it. Such is the reasoning behind “sin taxes” like a tax on soda, to try to curb the wave of obesity in the U.S. But should those taxes be imposed on consumers, or rather, on the manufacturers making the soda? [More]
Researchers Urge Government To Levy Tax On Pizza
By 3.16.10
While the current Soda Tax trend looks doomed to fail in New York state and Philadelphia, researchers are already making a suggestion for the target of the next sin tax — pizza. [More]
