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Soda Tax Proposed To Fight Obesity, Increase Tax Revenue

Posted on: Thursday, 17 September 2009, 13:10 CDT

Legislators and researchers are pushing for a tax on the nation’s sugary soda drinks in order to fight obesity and bring in additional revenue of about $15 billion each year.

A study from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and the California Center for Public Health Advocacy found that 62 percent of children between the ages of 12 and 17 and 41 percent of children ages 2-11 consume at least one sugary drink each day.

Furthermore, a group of nutrition and economics experts have issued a proposal to apply a one cent per ounce tax on sugary drinks.

"I don't think that most parents truly appreciate the role soda pop has in causing weight gain," said Senator Alex Padilla, who chairs the California Senate's Select Committee on Obesity and Diabetes and is known for heading a campaign for restaurants to post caloric information for menu items.

Authors of the new study said the one cent per ounce tax would add federal revenue while making consumers think twice before drinking sugary high-calorie beverages.

However, the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday issued its newly revised healthcare proposal, which did not include measures to tax soda drinks.

The bill circulating in the House also lacks such a tax, according to the Associated Press, which added that White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the president would not be likely to urge legislators to include such a measure in future proposals.

"They're at such a fragile place, introducing anything new and big like that into the mold is not likely to happen," Kenneth Thorpe, a health policy researcher at Emory University, told the AP.

Currently, 33 US states have sales taxes on soft drinks, with an average rate of 5.2 percent.

But a national one cent per ounce tax on sodas would generate about $15 billion in the first year, study author Kelly Brownell, director of Yale University's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity concluded.

Arkansas Surgeon General Dr. Joe Thompson; New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley; University of North Carolina obesity expert Barry Popkin; University of Illinois economist Frank Chaloupka; and Harvard nutrition and obesity experts Dr. Walter Willett and Dr. David Ludwig each co-authored the study.

"We agree that obesity is a serious public health issue, but the solution put forth by these researchers simply won't work," the American Beverage Association said in a statement.

"Reducing obesity will only be addressed through comprehensive solutions," it added.


Source: RedOrbit Staff & Wire Reports

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User Comments (15)

15. Posted by Paul Conley on 09/23/2009, 15:07
As a candidate and as president, Barack Obama has continued to promise a policy of not raising taxes on middle class families. The White House Press Secretary and other officials in the administration have repeated that pledge time and again. Recently though, the president did not dismiss the idea of a soft drink tax. A tax on soft drinks will burden middle class families, the same middle class families the president has vowed will not see their taxes raised. This regressive tax would do irreparable harm to an industry whose economic reach extends all across the country. Additionally, there is no proof this tax would curb obesity rates, In fact, Arkansas and West Virginia have experimented with this tax at the state level and both states still rank in the top 10 of obesity rates in the country.
14. Posted by ShirleyWent on 09/21/2009, 18:26
Enough is enough. I drink sodas, and I am anythiing but fat. Obesity comes from devouring food and lack of exercise, and nothing can change that, but the obese person themselves.
13. Posted by Derek on 09/18/2009, 21:23
In response to the article on taxing sodas. Why not tax kool aid to, it is a sugar containing drink enjoyed by kids. While we are at it why don't we just raise taxes on everything instead of having people take personal responsibility for themselves. That is the problem with this country somewhere along the way everything became someone else fault and someone else was to blame. Then the government slowly chips away bit by bit at our freedoms. To many people have paid for those freedoms we cherish with there lives and one day we are going to wake up and find ourselves talking about the day when we had the right to free speech. I know this sounds a little drastic but it just seems people are more willing to give up and blame someone else for there lot in life instead of looking in the mirror and and doing work needed to change there life. Just an observation
12. Posted by Commander on 09/17/2009, 23:57
Instead of enacting responsible fiscal discipline and moral spending restraint, federal and state governments who cannot do with one less stinking nickel of taxpayer's HARD earned money, use the fruadulent excuse of concern for the public's health as a phony pretext to further rob and pilfer the already downtrodden and broken taxpayer and in the worst economy since the Great Depression. Hope and change my ass.
11. Posted by cynthia on 09/17/2009, 16:44
people smoke even though the price of cigarettes went up considerably with the tax on them, and they will still drink sodas. So while the tax on soda is a way to bring in more revenue, I don't think it will necessarily do much to combat obesity. I think that maybe a tax write off or credit for people who buy gym memberships would help obesity more.
10. Posted by Bob on 09/17/2009, 16:13
Thanks obama and his minions...I suppose this tax will help bail out ACORN now. Wait did I hear this idiot say..."I will not raise taxes on the middle class. Appraently only the rich drink soda. Yea right. NOw here we go with ANOTHER tax. NEXT????
9. Posted by Kate on 09/17/2009, 16:06
I drink decaf diet soda - no sodium. It basically is colored water. Why should this be taxed? Let's just tax meat, butter, cookies, coffee, sugar, cakes, brownies, pasta and anything else you could think of. What may be bad for one can be okay in moderation. Just another excuse for extra taxes for politician's pockets.
8. Posted by Paul Revere on 09/17/2009, 15:57
This guy is a joke! He\'s in the middle of CA\'s worst financial disaster, heavily contributed to by CA out of control politicians, and he\'s trying to tell us what to drink and eat. There\'s no better proof for fraud in our election process. PR
7. Posted by Barbara Pelletier on 09/17/2009, 15:56
I drank diet pepsi for years and recently chose to drink diet rootbeer which has no caffeine. I weaned myself from the caffeine, but the diet drinks are low in sodium and have no calories. While I agree that the foods people choose to consume makes a difference to a person\'s health, force has never been successful over the long haul. While growing up in Oregon in the 1950\'s and 1960\'s, we were constantly educated and reinforced to follow Smokey the Bear\'s kindly message. It worked, and Oregon\'s Keep Oregon Clean campain merged with the original Keep Oregon Green spirit. If government cared about the spirit of health and not the money to save, we\'d have a much more active population because the \"real leaders.....every last one of them\" would be a living example. Hitler was a monster, but he certainly knew how to motivate. If only there was decent way of inspiring people...and please don\'t say god, we all know where that leads.
6. Posted by LittleJohnney on 09/17/2009, 15:29
I see a fat content tax, carb tax, hmmm, tax credits for wheat and soy product, forget milk it will be outlawed, sodium tax. Since everything bad for you will have a tax, go on ahead and legalize weed, and give a tax credit for it...why? Munchies will create gov't revenue 10 fold.
5. Posted by LittleJohnney on 09/17/2009, 15:16
It's only inevitable, since its a battle against obesity that a calorie tax is soon to show up. So much for the 99 cent menu at Mc D's....
4. Posted by Anonymous on 09/17/2009, 15:12
I hope this goes through, fatties don\'t know how to stop, so gov\'t\'s gotta do it for them. Good gob, legislators, let\'s all hope this passes.
3. Posted by Synapticgate on 09/17/2009, 14:52
This is a crock....you are at a point where you might as well just give your paycheck to the government. Why bother working, why bother about home ownership, why bother-next thing they will charge us with a 2% tax every time we ****!
2. Posted by Ann on 09/17/2009, 14:44
Ridiculous. I don't drink much pop and often times don't have it in the house. But, if I do want one, I don't want to have to pay 12 cents extra per can. How about we look at other things that are worse for our health, such as margarine. Anything artificial should be taxed like this. Then everyone would be encouraged to cook regular meals and use healthy and natural ingredients. These items that are made to look like other things are not good. They are altered in every way and I know they can't be good for you. We are taxed enough and we are in the midst of a terrible recession. Only Washington thinks the recession is over. Why would our political figures choose to make this move at this time???? Crazy!!!
1. Posted by jonathan on 09/17/2009, 14:06
"Soda Tax proposed to increase tax burden" should have been the entire headline. The idea that the government is now proposing to tax individual food items in order to shape citizens behavior is Orwellian and insulting. Imagine the opportunity for this kind of shenanigans if there *were* universal healthcare...then the government would be able to tax or bar virtually anything under the guise of managing healthcare costs. Of course any such rules would never apply to the elite...just the regular working folk.

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