Sugar tax
Berkeley, California
In 2014, the people of Berkeley voted 76 per cent to 24 per cent to introduce a soda tax. It was implemented tin 2014 at a rate of 1¢ per floz. It was seen as a 'success'...
Firstly because they can point to a study which claims that it led to a 9.6 per cent reduction in sugary drink sales. It’s a safe bet that this drop in sales was mainly due to people buying their soft drinks out of town; the same study shows a 6.9 per cent increase in sales in neighbouring areas (where sales were not rising before Berkeley introduced its tax). The study also found that Berkeley residents were consuming the same quantity of sugary drinks after the tax as they did before[1]
Philadelphia
After two years, the summary[2]
Philadelphia’s soda tax, implemented in 2017, comes to 1.5 cents per ounce, equal to a hefty $1 tax on a typical $1.56, two-liter bottle. The city included artificially sweetened “diet” sodas in the tax, while excluding sugary fruit juices. The city government admitted the tax was about raising revenues, not just making people healthier.[2]
- The rich simply bought where the tax wasn't being implemented
- The poor simply paid the extra
- No overall change in consumption