soda tax

The Philadelphia soda tax has faced down yet another legal challenge.

The battle over Mayor Jim Kenney’s proposed “soda tax” on sugary drinks is really heating up. Last night a public hearing was held for public input on the city’s budget, and several groups showed up to protest the levy.

City hall was apparently “surrounded” by 18-wheeler trucks, many of them bearing the logos of popular soda drinks on the side, bearing protesters who disagree with the three-cents-per-ounce tax on sweetened drinks like soda, sweet teas, sports drinks, and others. But distributors aren’t the only group upset with the concept of the tax. Corner store owners and beverage distributors, both of whom would be impacted by a hike in the price of beverages, turned out as well.

 

Those against the soda tax held a rally in front of City Hall last night.

Members of the umbrella group Philadelphians Against the Grocery Tax Coalition held a rally at 5 p.m., two hours before the public hearing started. According to NBC 10, “Speakers at the rally included Dany Vinas, owner of CTOWN Supermarket; Anne McNally, owner of McNally Tavern; Danny Grace, business manager for the Philadelphia Teamsters; and Miguel Martinez, the head of the Dominican Merchants Association.” The American Beverage Association has shelled out amounts in excess of $1.5 million on its Philadelphia anti-tax campaign.

It seems like just about everyone has something to say about the soda tax. While making their respective ways through Philadelphia on the campaign trail in advance of the Pennsylvania primary, both candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination weighed in on the issue. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that she supported the tax, because she is a fan of universal pre-kindergarten education, which the tax would go towards funding. Senator Bernie Sanders, on the other hand, derided the tax as one that would affect the poor to a proportionally unfair amount and objected to it, while accusing Clinton of supporting the big businesses that would get a boost from the tax.

Meanwhile, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg donated an unknown amount of money towards supporting the soda tax. Bloomberg gave large donations to anti-soda legislation in California and Mexico, as well as trying to outlaw supersized sodas in his own city during his tenure in office.