SEATTLE — The Seattle City Council on Monday approved a new tax on soda and other sugary beverages as way to raise millions for healthy food and education programs. The ordinance calls for a tax of 1.75 cents per ounce to be paid by distributors of beverages such as Pepsi and Coke, sports drinks, energy drinks and other sweetened drinks. They say it would cut down on the consumption of sugary drinks that have little nutritional value and are linked to obesity, diabetes and other health problems. Seattle joins a handful of other cities nationwide that have a soda tax. Last month, voters in Santa Fe, New Mexico, resoundingly rejected a soda tax proposal, but Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Oakland, California, have approved taxes on sugary beverages.

Source: Washington Post June 06, 2017 00:11 UTC