On June 16, 2016, Philadelphia's City Council approved by a
13–4 vote a 1.5 percent per ounce tax on sweetened soft
drinks. The tax will be applied to any nonalcoholic beverage,
syrup, or other concentrate that lists as an ingredient any form of
caloric sugar-based sweetener, including, but not limited to,
sucrose, glucose, and high fructose corn syrup. The tax also
applies to beverages containing artificial sugar substitutes, such
as stevia, aspartame, sucralose, neotame, acesulfame potassium
(known as Ace-K), saccharin, and advantame. The rule excludes the
application of the tax to sweetened baby formulas, medical foods,
drinks made from at least 50 percent milk or fruit or vegetables,
drinks to which a purchaser can add, or can request that a seller
add, sugar at the point of sale, and any syrup or other concentrate
that the customer combines with other ingredients to create a
beverage.
The first city to impose a soda tax was Berkeley, California, and other neighboring
cities, such as San Francisco, Oakland, and Albany, have introduced
similar tax proposals to be voted in November 2016. Other cities,
such as New York City, have unsuccessfully tried to pass similar
tax laws in the past. Philadelphia's rule will be effective
January 1, 2017.
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