Americans for Tax Reform issued a letter today to the Illinois State Senate opposing a new tax on soda being pushed by Democrat Senator Mattie Hunter. Senate Bill 3524 imposes a "rate of $0.01 per ounce of bottled sugar-sweetened beverages sold or offered for sale to a retailer for sale in the State to a consumer. Provides that the distributor shall add the amount of the tax to the price of sugar-sweetened beverages sold to a retailer, and the retailer shall pass the amount of the tax through to the consumer."
In the letter, ATR's president Grover Norquist noted:
Aside from the negative economic impact associated with raising taxes, soda taxes do not help to decrease obesity or caloric intake. The non-partisan Tax Foundation released a study which found that “soda and candy taxes do not necessarily decrease caloric intake. One recent study finds that when adolescents switch away from soda due to price increases, the drop in calories is offset by an increase in calories consumed in other food and drink.
To read the full letter, click here.