The move by the city council in the fifth-largest U.S. city – considered a major blow to the powerful soda industry – adds a tax of 1.5 cents per ounce for drinks containing sugar. Council also passed the city budget that had been proposed in March.
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The city will begin collecting the tax on January 1.
The wide-ranging tax will include regular sodas, diet sodas, sports drinks, energy drinks and other nonalcoholic beverages with added sweeteners.
“This is the beginning of a process of changing the narrative of poverty in our city”, Kenney said at a news conference Thursday.
“Thanks to the tireless advocacy of educators, parents, rec center volunteers and so many others, Philadelphia made a historic investment in our neighborhoods and in our education system today”, Kenney said in a statement after the vote.
Philadelphia on Thursday became the first major city in the U.S.to approve a beverage tax, a move that public health experts hope will have a ripple effect nationwide.
“The tax passed today is a regressive tax that unfairly singles out beverages, including low- and no-calorie choices”, the industry group said in a statement.
The tax would “create the worst black market for non-alcoholic beverages since prohibition” in the 1920s and 1930s, said a man identified by the local ABC television channel as Coca-Cola employee Chris Hunter.
(Kenney) “Acknowledge that it is a good thing to drink less sugar-sweetened beverages, but tie it to things that the community cares about”. Prior to the vote, some said the tax is illegal.
Mayor Jim Kenney speaks during a news conference at City Hall in Philadelphia, June 16, 2016.
Philadelphia passed a tax on soda and sugary drinks Thursday, making it the largest city in the country to do so. We’ll see what they do. “They spent a long time twisting the facts of this debate on television with millions of dollars so we’ll fight the next fight when it comes”. It’s expected to raise $410 million over the next five years, most of which will go toward funding a universal pre-kindergarten program for the city, as well as toward parks and libraries.
“Thoughtful planning is critical to make these initiatives successful for our city, which is why Council will require full-fledged plans for pre-K, community schools, and rebuild before any expenditures of this revenue can be made”, she said.
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He plans to sign the tax into law on Monday, Colaneri reported.
