Category: Sugary Drink Tax

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The Soda Tax is Working

  By PA Budget and Policy Center, Sugary Drink Tax, Testimony

  Testimony on the Philadelphia Beverage TaxSenate Local Government CommitteeScott Wagner, ChairOctober 17, 2017   Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, My name is Marc Stier. I’m the director of the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center. PBPC is an organization that works for broadly shared prosperity in the Commonwealth by means of research, advocacy, and organizing on public policy issues. Why we supported the Philly Beverage Tax We had intense discussion among our staff members about how to view the beverage tax. We typically oppose taxes that are narrowly focused or that fall more heavily on those with low incomes than those with high incomes. While we believe that the benefits of the programs funded by the tax—in particular, pre-k education and rebuilding community centers and playgrounds—also particularly benefit those with low incomes in the city, that was not enough for us to support it. Other taxes could be… Continue reading

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Facts, Not Hysteria, About the Soda Tax

  By Budget analysis, PA Budget and Policy Center, Philadelphia, Sugary Drink Tax

Originally published by the Philadelphia Business Journal on April 20, 2017. Also at Third and State.  Co-authored by Diana Polson. The reaction of the beverage industry to the Philadelphia soda tax continues to be self-centered, hysterical, and dubious. Before looking at their claims, let’s keep in mind something very important: every tax has some negative consequences for some businesses. And, yes, it is a shame if some business absorbs some costs and a few people lose jobs as a result. But public policy has to be driven by the consequences for all of us. So, the question is not whether an individual business is hurt by the Philadelphia soda tax, but whether the city and its citizens benefit on the whole. We think the answer is clearly yes, not just because of the investment in Pre-K education and community recreation centers made possible by this tax, but because of the… Continue reading

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Early Returns Look Good in Philadelphia’s Nation-leading Fight for a Soda Tax

  By PA Budget and Policy Center, PBPC Blog posts, Sugary Drink Tax

I wasn’t surprised by the substantial revenues that the soda tax is bringing in, even while there is some reason to believe that soda consumption is down in the city, as we predicted it would be. For me, the soda tax has two aims–to bring in revenue and to discourage the over-consumption of soda, which contribute  to diabetes and heart disease. The second aim will  over five or ten years become more important as the tax plus public education teaches people consume to a lot less soda. Revenues will decline then, and our healthier city will need to replace some of them  raised by the tax. But at present, it looks like  revenues will be substantial to pay for the expansion of pre-K education and the community playgrounds and recreation centers for which the tax is dedicted. It will  take a month or two for these new revenues  to ramp… Continue reading

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Racial and Economic Patterns in the Consumption of Sugary Drinks

  By Memos, PA Budget and Policy Center, Sugary Drink Tax

To: Members of City Council, Editorial Boards and Opinion Writers From: Marc Stier, Director, Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center Date: June 5, 2016 Re: Racial and Economic Patterns in the Consumption of Sugary Drinks The continuing debate about Mayor Kenney’s proposal to tax sugary drinks is multi-faceted. We at the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center have expressed our support for the policy on a variety of grounds. But here we want to address only one issue – an important misconception – about who consumes sugary drinks. A common theme of those who criticize the sugary drink tax is that it is doubly regressive. Critics say it is regressive first because, like all sales taxes, it takes a higher percentage of the income of those who have low incomes than those who have high incomes. And they say it is regressive, second, because those with low incomes and from ethnic and… Continue reading

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Why Philly Needs the Sugary Drink Tax

  By PA Budget and Policy Center, PBPC Blog posts, Philadelphia, Sugary Drink Tax

Originally appeared on the Third and State Blog on May 25, 2016 As we move closer to a City Council vote on the sugary drink tax proposal, I want to offer some final thoughts about the idea and correct some misapprehensions about it: 1.While the tax itself is regressive, and the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center almost always opposes regressive taxation, the program as a whole is not regressive. To begin with, the opponents of the tax are simply wrong about one aspect of it. They have been arguing that it is doubly regressive because members of low-income families consume sugary drinks at higher rates than middle- and high-income families or that African-Americans drink sugary drinks at higher rates than white people (and keep in mind that these are two groups not one). Those are myths. The research on this issue is equivocal and does not support that claim. 2.… Continue reading

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Those Feeling the Brunt of the Soda Tax Will Also Feel Benefits

  By PA Budget and Policy Center, Philadelphia, Published Op-Eds, Sugary Drink Tax

Originally published as Those feeling brunt of soda tax will also feel benefits, Philadelphia Daily News, April 19, 2016 THE SUGARY-DRINK tax proposed by Mayor Kenney, also known as the “soda tax,” is controversial because it takes a greater share of the income from poor families than rich ones. And since we at the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center are fundamentally committed to economic justice, we are always inclined to be suspicious of taxes that do that. So it may come as a surprise that we have concluded, overall, that the sugary-drink tax proposed by the mayor is a good idea. Though the costs fall more heavily on those with low incomes, for two reasons, more of the benefit of the tax will go to low-income Philadelphians, as well. The first benefit of the tax flows from how the new revenue will be spent – on pre-K education, community schools, and… Continue reading

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Who Benefits from the Philadelphia Soda Tax?

  By Sugary Drink Tax

The tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) proposed by Mayor Kenney, also known as the “soda tax,” is controversial mainly because, like other sales taxes, it takes a greater share of the income of poor families than rich ones. However, while the costs of the soda tax fall more heavily on those with low incomes, more of the benefit of the tax will go to low-income Philadelphians. This report examines those benefits. Click here to read full-screen or print.  Continue reading