Federal and state governments should levy excise taxes on soda and other sugary drinks both to raise revenues to pay for health coverage and prevention programs, and also to decrease consumption of products that promote obesity, the Center for Science in the Public Interest said today. The nutrition and food safety watchdog group launched a web-based Liquid Candy Tax Calculator to show policymakers, activists and media exactly how much money states and the federal government could raise in this way.
For instance, a new federal excise tax of one penny per 12-ounce soda could generate more than $1.5 billion dollars per year, according to the calculator. A steeper tax of one penny per ounce could raise roughly $16 billion a year—an amount that would make a serious down payment on a comprehensive health care reform bill. CSPI estimates that taxing soda at that amount would also reduce consumption by 13 percent overall and perhaps more among children, which would help slow the obesity and diabetes epidemics. The state of Massachusetts, which is weighing a sales tax of 8 percent on sugary drinks, could raise $105 million.
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