Soft drink tax for NH?

This March California lawmakers proposed adding a $0.02 per ounce tax on sugar-sweetened soft drinks to fund obesity and diabetes prevention programs, safe drinking water, and oral health. If passed, it’s estimated the tax would yield over $2 billion per year.

Lawmakers in California have previously tried to pass a $0.01 soda tax, but the measure was defeated. No state has so far succeeded in passing a volume-based tax on the purchase of soft drinks, though the city of Berkeley passed a similar measure in 2014.

An attempt to impose a soft drink tax in New Hampshire failed in 2010.

Supporters argue that a soda tax would reduce consumption of high-sugar beverages, which have been strongly linked to obesity, while providing much-needed funding for related public health programs. They note that lowering obesity rates would improve quality of life for many state residents and lower health care costs.

Opponents counter that a soda tax would only make it harder for families struggling to make ends meet, and argue that taxing sugary soft drinks is discriminatory. They also point to studies that people decreasing soda consumption because of higher costs simply get the same sugar-based calories from other foods.

UPDATE: Read our Citizen Voices℠ report and find out where New Hampshire stands on this issue.