Michigan lawmakers voted Wednesday to prohibit local taxes on food, drinks and gum in a pre-emptive strike against any municipality that might consider levying a tax on soda and other sugary and artificially sweetened items. But majority Republicans said it is possible, pointing to Philadelphia and the Chicago area as places with soda taxes. Legislation to ban local excise taxes on food and beverages won bipartisan approval 31-5 in the GOP-led Senate, just two weeks after it was introduced. Michigan generally exempts food, food ingredients and drinks sold at grocery stores from the state sales tax. While other states have policies to prevent the taxation of food, House GOP lawmakers believe Michigan would be the first state to bar local taxes on all foods.

Source: ABC News October 04, 2017 18:09 UTC