Activists who want government to decide what we eat and drink have pushed soda taxes onto consumers for years now. They’ve not had much success. The reason is that people reject them.
Since 2009, more than 30 states and cities across the country have proposed or introduced beverage taxes. All failed except for one, in Berkeley, Calif.
Why have they failed?
People don’t want government in their shopping carts. Consumers have consistently voted down soda taxes in referendums and pressured lawmakers to abandon the idea. People know that once politicians slap a discriminatory tax on one item in their grocery carts, then more items will be taxed too. It’s a slippery slope that would allow governments to raise prices on grocery bills every time they need money for spending programs.
That kind of regressive tax policy hurts poor and middle-income families most and it won’t solve the reasons behind the budget deficits that have led many lawmakers to propose beverages taxes. Raising prices artificially on beverages hurts small businesses and mom-and-pop stores most and costs jobs.
Taxing one food or beverage won’t make anyone healthier, either. The states of West Virginia and Arkansas enacted excise taxes on soft drinks years ago and both states have continued to rank in the top 10 most-obese states in the country. States with no soda tax, such as Colorado and Vermont, continue to rank among the least-obese states.
A July 7 story in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution quoted an activist saying recent proposals in Illinois and Vermont are indicators the “the tide has turned” in favor of raising taxes on beverages.
Yes, a proposal was floated in Illinois, but no legislation was assigned to a committee, no hearing took place and no vote was held. In Vermont, an excise tax on beverages was abandoned after nearly 15,000 Vermonters and more than 200 small businesses joined a coalition to voice opposition to the idea. The Vermont Legislature instead passed a package of various tax hikes that included removing the sales tax exemption on a range of products, including both diet and regular soft drinks.
Pro-tax activists say that a tax on soda in Mexico shows there may be momentum for imposing soda taxes on consumers in the United States to address public health challenges like obesity. But again, Mexico raised taxes on several things (food, soft drinks, capital gains, sales, income) as part of a massive tax package to fill a budget deficit amid a steep decline in revenues from the state-owned oil industry. It was not a soda taxand public health had nothing to do with it.
Sales of beverages may have dipped in Mexico as a result of the tax. So too did jobs. As for health, there is no evidence that the Mexico tax helped a single person lose weight.
That is because raising taxes on common grocery items simply does not lead to changes in the behaviors that nutrition scientists tell us cause obesity or diabetes. What works is empowering consumers to achieve balance in their diet through education and accurate information.
Last fall, America’s leading beverage companies launched the Balance Calories Initiative with a goal to reduce beverage calories consumed per person nationally by 20 percent by 2025. We’ve put clear calorie information on all of our cans, bottles and packs and are doing so on more than 3 million company-controlled vending machines, fountain equipment and retail coolers nationwide. We’ve launched Mixify™, a consumer awareness and engagement program that talks to teens about the importance of balancing what they eat and drink with what they do.
These are meaningful efforts that will have real impact in Georgia and across America. Policymakers should find ways to promote balance in our lives and abandon old ideas of raising prices on common grocery items. They don’t work and are deeply unpopular with the public.
About the Author
