State Sen. Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville, is proposing increasing the taxes on sodas--both regular and diet, and energy drinks, too--to raise money for the state and cut down on obesity in children and adults.
That means a typical 12-ounce Diet Dr Pepper could cost 12 cents more at a grocery or convenience store. A six-pack of Coke would cost an extra 72 cents. And a 24-count box of Big Red would [image-nocss] cost an extra $2.88, according to the newspaper.
"There are solutions to the budget mess we find ourselves in which do not involve making drastic cuts to vital services," Lucio said. "The Texas Legislature should be exploring these solutions."
As state lawmakers face a multibillion-dollar shortfall--and making cuts to education and social services to balance the budget--Lucio said his proposal could raise an extra $4 billion every two years.
"We've got to have alternatives other than cuts," Lucio said. "This bill would help retain teachers and critical medical services."
Critics say they don't think a soft drink tax will do the trick.
"Texas politicians must cut down on their spending binges instead of making citizens swallow this not-so-sweet tax," J. Justin Wilson, a senior research analyst at nonprofit Center for Consumer Freedom in Washington, D.C., told the newspaper.
Thus far, 33 states have levied some sort of tax on soft drinks. Some say the tax is to curb soda consumption, which some research has linked to obesity, reports show.
A study last year showed that taxing soft drinks can make people cut down on their consumption of the drinks, if the tax is high enough. Researchers for the Archives of Internal Medicine study say a soft drink tax as much as 18% could make a person drop his or her daily soft drink consumption by 56 calories.
"Policies aimed at altering the price of soda ... may be effective mechanisms to steer U.S. adults toward a more healthful diet and help reduce long-term weight gain or insulin levels over time," the study says.
Last year, Colorado levied a 2.9% tax on soft drinks and candy, simply by removing those items from the state's list of tax-free food and drinks. California lawmakers are now considering adding a penny-per-ounce tax to drinks sweetened with corn syrup or sugar. At the same time, Washington state voters repealed a tax on candy, soda and bottled water.
In Texas, Lucio's proposal calls for a penny-an-ounce tax on carbonated or noncarbonated, nonalcoholic drinks that contain natural or artificial sweeteners, including soft drinks and energy drinks, that are sold at grocery stores or convenience stores, but not at restaurants.
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