Soda Tax

Soda taxes are implemented to reduce the intake of high sugary drinks. For the focus of this blog I'll focus on the City of Philadelphia. Beginning January 2017, Philadelphia implemented a soda tax at the rate of 1.5 cent per ounce. After two years of the soda tax enough data is in to understand how it impacting the distributors, retailer dealers and consumers.

As of May 2019, sugary drink sales dropped 38% in Philadelphia after the city implemented a soda tax, according to a new study. To avoid the tax some residents crossed city lines to buy soft drinks outside the city, partially offsetting what would have been an even steeper reduction, the University of Pennsylvania researchers found. Beverage sales inside Philadelphia’s city limits dropped by 51% but were partially offset by an increase in sales just outside the city, resulting in a net decrease in soda sales of 38% in the area, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found. It is clear from this study and others that beverage taxes hurt working families, small local businesses and their employees.

To read more about the Philadelphia Soda please click the link here:

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