Lawmakers in the nation’s capital are proposing enacting a new tax on sugary drinks, hoping that forcing consumers to pay more for products they want will deter them from consuming sugary beverages.
Democrat Brianne Nadeau, a member of the Washington, D.C., city council, introduced a measure Tuesday that would enact an excise tax of 1.5 cents per ounce on beverages the city government considers “sugary drinks.”
The legislation would repeal an existing 8% sales tax on sugary drinks, which is 2% higher than the existing sales tax in Washington.
Enacting the sugary drink tax would “begin rectifying longstanding health inequities made even more apparent by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“One thing that COVID-19 has made abundantly clear is that we need to get serious about addressing health inequities in the District,” Nadeau said in a press release. – READ MORE
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