Although it appears that a national tax on soda pop might be too much for the American people to swallow, the prospect that consumers will soon have to pay even more for their favorite sweet and bubbly beverages remains quite real.

All year long, newscasts have been filled with stories on healthcare reform and obesity in America.

One notion that has bubbled up in recent years as a possible strategy to counteract childhood obesity is the idea of taxing soda pop.

In an attempt to shore up New York’s $7.4 billion deficit, Gov. David Paterson is pitching a sour proposal: a “sin tax” on soft drinks that he believes could help reduce waistlines while filling politicians’ pockets.

Obesity is a public health crisis in the United States. There’s no debating that it is caused by Americans’ sedentary lifestyles and poor food choices.

October 26, 2009
by David Brunori
David Brunori argues against the taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages, stating that such a tax would be not only unfair but would impose a hidden levy that runs counter to the principle of tax system transparency.
David Brunori is the executive vice president of editorial operations for Tax Analysts. The opinions expressed in [...]

Like bears to honey or zombies to brains, politicians find something irresistible about soda taxes.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 16, 2009
CONTACT:   Press Office at 202-463-6770

New Ads Caution Washington Not to Tax Hard-Working Families
Strength of Coalition Demonstrates Concern about Slippery Slope on Grocery Taxes
WASHINGTON – Americans Against Food Taxes (AAFT) is releasing two new ads this week that caution Washington policy-makers against raising grocery costs on middle-class families by taxing their [...]

These days, it seems like every time you turn around, another state or federal official is espousing the view that a tax on soft drinks or French fries will solve the country’s obesity and budget problems.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 14, 2009
CONTACT:   Press Office at 202-463-6770

New Ads Caution Washington Not to Tax Hard-Working Families
Strength of Coalition Demonstrates Concern about Slippery Slope on Grocery Taxes
WASHINGTON – Americans Against Food Taxes (AAFT) is releasing two new ads this week that caution Washington policy-makers against raising grocery costs on middle-class families by taxing their [...]

Throughout the continuing Congressional debate about healthcare reform, proposals to cover the cost by adding a federal tax to everyday goods have repeatedly reared their ugly heads.

The prospect of a trillion-dollar health care overhaul has Congress looking under couch cushions to find enough new revenue to pay the bill.

Fat consumes 10 percent of our health-care dollars. That’s $147 billion we spend, as a nation, treating diseases caused or exacerbated by too much fat on our frames.

A thought as the health care debate reignites. I promise you I’m not trying to malign fat people, or the weight challenged or Hefty Americans.

Gov. Paterson’s proposal to tax soda in New York fizzled, but President Obama says it’s an idea whose time may come

Economic Impact of a Proposed Beverage Tax
A proposed tax on sugar-sweetened beverages would raise beverage prices to consumers and produce significant impacts on both the beverage industry and related industries.  These adverse economic impacts would result in lower tax revenues to government, significantly offsetting the projected revenue to be gained by imposing the tax.  The [...]

Republicans and tax groups are pushing back hard against the Democratic plan to fund a trillion-dollar healthcare overhaul bill by taxing wealthy Americans.

NEW COALITION SAYS NO TO REGRESSIVE AND DISCRIMINATORY BEVERAGE AND FOOD TAXES
Health care reform is the right thing to do, but singling out consumer products for taxation is wrong approach to complex problem – especially in this economy
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans Against Food Taxes, a new coalition of concerned individuals, working families, and small and [...]

Here’s one idea Congress is considering to pay for health-care reform: a tax on sugary beverages, like soda.

Democrats on the influential House Ways and Means Committee seemed to be moving toward a funding plan for health care reform that would cut Medicare and Medicaid spending by roughly $500 billion to $600 billion and levy a surtax on the wealthy — even as the bill’s introduction was put off as party moderates wrangled with leadership over how to proceed.

We received an e-mail last week that we initially took with a grain of salt, but apparently its author isn’t kidding around. He essentially said that any plan to increase taxes on sugar-heavy soft drinks would be unfair to people (like him) who consume in moderation.

The United States’ taxing history begins with tea and, now with their most recent attempt, it might include another popular beverage: Soda.

One day, that fountain soda you sip at work or the six-pack of Coke you buy for your kids may cost you more.

Even most smokers know the habit is bad.

The United States has a daunting task before it: funding health care reform. It is a challenge we will meet and one the non-alcoholic beverage industry supports as it will help make our country stronger.

The president is now considering a tax on sugary soft drinks (a “soda tax”), ostensibly to improve U.S. healthcare by focusing on “preventive care,” in this case, by mitigating obesity, a leading global healthcare concern.

As Congress and the president look to expand government’s role in health care, taxpayers are left singing the old Waylon Jennings line, “Your thirst for riches is more than my pockets can stand.”