The bill passed Philadelphia’s City Council by a vote of 13-4.
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“Philadelphia made a historic investment in our neighborhoods and in our education system today”.
“It’s a perfectly valid thing to do, and it has additional social benefits on top of the revenue benefits”, said John Donaldson, director of fixed income at Haverford Trust Co.in Radnor, Pennsylvania.
One other city, Berkeley in California, implemented a soda tax in 2014, but its population is far smaller than Philadelphia’s.
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney was a major proponent of the tax, telling City Council that it would bring in an estimated $90 million in new tax revenues next year to be used for pre-k education, community schools and recreation centers. The case could certainly be made for a healthier Philadelphia – more than 68 percent of adults and 41 percent of children in the city are overweight or obese. The tax will enter into the fiscal budget July 1, but it wouldn’t start getting collected until January 1.
The move comes as the beverage industry, led by leader Atlanta-based Coca-Cola, is struggling with falling soda sales as consumers switch to teas, waters and energy drinks.
The Inquirer reported that about half of the beverage tax money raised over five years would go to prekindergarten.
Supporters say the measure will improve the health of the 1.5 million people who live in Philadelphia, America’s fifth-largest city. Between the relatively high tax (Berkeley’s is only one cent per ounce) and the focus on city revenue, the policy is a “forecast of what will happen in the rest of the country”, he says.
Philadelphia’s tax will be levied on distributors.
The councilmembers who voted against the soda tax were Republicans Brian O’Neill, 10th District; Allan Domb, at-large; and Al Taubenberger, at-large – along with Councilwoman Maria Quiñones-Sánchez, 7th District, who has long opposed the sugar-sweetened drinks tax.
“Today’s victory demonstrates that when people unite around a worthy and clearly-articulated set of proposals like those advanced by Mayor Kenney, the ideas they embody are strong enough to defeat even the most well-funded and aggressive lobbying effort”, Philadelphians for a Fair Future said in a statement.
The vote came on the final day of council’s spring session before the body’s summer recess.
Previously, other major cities have tried but failed to pass taxes and other restrictions on soda and other sugary drinks.
This item has been corrected by removing the erroneous reference to the businessman’s spending and showing the industry spent millions of dollars to fight the tax proposal.
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“This tax is unconstitutional, and that’s why we will take this fight to the courts”, said Philadelphians Against the Grocery Tax in a statement.
