The idea of a soda tax has been thrown around a few times in the healthcare debate but the fight seems to be heating up. Fearful for their profit margins, beverage makers have banded together to form Americans Against Food Taxes and are purchasing (probably wicked cheap) advertising on Glenn Beck.
Americans Against Food Taxes is a coalition of concerned citizens – responsible individuals, financially strapped families, small and large businesses in communities across the country – opposed to the Government’s proposed tax hike on food and beverages, including soda, juice drinks, and flavored milks.
The fight has also been waged by beverage company executives on newspaper op/ed pages and conservatives on the Internet. The criticism appears to see the issue as an effort to change Americans’ drinking habits, even as they admit that it may not work. The CEO of Coca-Cola even went so far as saying, “I have never seen it work where a government tells people what to eat and what to drink. If it worked, the Soviet Union would still be around.” The New York Times attempts to pick this argument apart.
Even if it doesn’t stop American’s excessive consumption, a tax on soda would show that the government knows that these are empty calories. A higher price at the checkout stand could get people reassessing how they choose to spend their money.
Is there an estimate of the tax value per ounce?
I don’t think this tax will have much of an effect on soda consumption. If the tax amount was close to what is done with cigarettes then you might see a change.