Implementation of Soda Tax Leaves Philadelphians Astounded

It’s a new year, and with it comes new changes for the City of Philadelphia. Notable among those changes is the implementation of Mayor Jim Kenney’s notorious “soda tax” on sweetened beverages. The tax of 1.5 cents per ounce on sodas, sweetened teas, juices, and sports drinks was passed last year as a means of not only combating the obesity epidemic, but also to raise funds in city coffers for worthy causes like universal pre-kindergarten education, community centers, and schools. Philadelphians have known that this tax was coming for a few months. By several reports, however, the actual implementation of the tax has left residents dumbfounded by the increased prices of sweetened beverages.

The new soda tax is leaving some city residents baffled by sticker shock.

It should be mentioned that the tax is levied at the distributor level, and that means that merchants do not necessarily have to pass the cost on to customers. Just try finding one who hasn’t, however. As the tax is per ounce, larger volume beverages (or packs of beverages) have seen the biggest increases. A 20-ounce soda at Acme that cost $1.88 on New Year’s Eve is now up to $2.18, says ABC6. That’s a moderate 30-cent increase. Another customer mentioned bought a gallon of sweet tea that was labeled at $1.77. At the register, however, a tax of $1.92 was added, making the tax higher than the actual price of the product. This has led to some protests of a lack of transparency by customers, since the price posted is far different from what the final price ends up being.

NewsChannel5 had this to say: “Selena Zito, a contributor for CNN and the New York Post, shared a photo of a receipt on her Twitter account. The receipt shows that a case of Propel flavored water that sold for $5.99 had a final cost of $9.75 after tax.” In short, Philadelphians are experiencing post-soda tax sticker shock.