Back in January, researchers found that raising the prices of sugary sodas, coffees, teas and energy drinks and fruit drinks led to a decrease in the purchases of those drinks. Specifically, increasing the prices of said beverages by an average of 31% reduced consumer purchases by a third.
The study, published in JAMA Health Forum, looked at per-ounce tax plans by ZIP code in Boulder, Colorado; Oakland, California; Philadelphia; Seattle; and San Francisco. Nine US jurisdictions have implemented some form of consumer tax on sugar-sweetened beverages. The drinks are taxed in various ways, including excise taxes, sales taxes and import/export taxes. Excise taxes, the most common type of tax implemented on sugary beverages, are placed on distributors, who then pass the cost of the tax — usually as a flat rate per ounce — on to consumers. Some US cities have implemented sales taxes on sugary beverages at checkout, typically at a rate of 1 to 2%. As for import/export taxes, those taxes are applied to specific ingredients in the drink, like sugar, before they are processed.
