91茄子

As the D.C. Council considers a new soda tax that could drive the price of a two-liter bottle of Coke up $1, the people the legislation is designed to help are balking against it.

The council quietly increased the sales tax on soda and sugary drinks from 6% to 8% in early October. But now the proposed Healthy Beverages Act of 2019 would replace it with a 1.5-cent-per-ounce excise tax on the beverages. Councilmembers say the measure will help fund public health programs for low-income residents.

But neighborhoods in Ward 8 are already feeling the effects of the first tax hike.

鈥淭hey shouldn鈥檛 be taxing us,鈥� said Ezra Calloway Sr., 67, as he left New 7 Market on New Hope Road SE. with a soda. 鈥淧eople are struggling to survive as it is. I don鈥檛 have money to come around here, and everything I buy they want to tax.鈥�

With the current 8% sales tax, a 99-cent, 20-ounce bottle of soda costs customers $1.07. The proposed excise tax would change the sticker price on that item to $1.29.

The legislation would help the city fund programs to help communities affected the most by sugary drinks and a lack of access to healthy food 鈥� like the city鈥檚 鈥� Act and the Department of Health鈥檚 program 鈥� according to the bill鈥檚 sponsor, Ward 1 Councilmember Brianne K. Nadeau.

鈥淚n D.C., residents living in the lowest income neighborhoods have the least access to healthy drinks and full-service grocery options,鈥� Nadeau said in a statement. 鈥淭his bill reinvests in our neighborhoods by providing healthy food, expanding childcare options and improving parks.鈥�

Elmo Davis, 44, who bought snacks from a convenience store in Anacostia on a recent Tuesday, suggested the city find other sources of revenue for public health services.

鈥淚 mean, they got other funds they can get money from besides taxing soda,鈥� Davis said. 鈥淚 might think twice before buying [a soda.]鈥�

Helen Park owns the New 7 Market in Anacostia and said customers have been frustrated since the city hiked the sales tax on soda. She doesn鈥檛 expect the situation to improve if the council continues to drive prices through an excise tax.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e angry. That鈥檚 a problem,鈥� Park said.

She added, she doesn鈥檛 think the measure will discourage people from drinking sugary sodas, sports drinks, juices or iced teas.

鈥淧eople will drink whatever they want to drink,鈥� Park said.

An excise tax is imposed on distributors, who pass the cost onto consumers. That means the price tag on soda and sugary drinks would increase.

Seven U.S. cities now have excise taxes on sugary drinks, including Philadelphia and San Francisco, said Richard Auxier, a research associate in the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center at the Urban Institute. It鈥檚 difficult to determine if the taxes have accomplished what lawmakers wanted, he said.

at Northwestern University showed an excise tax of 1.5 cents per ounce led to 46% fewer soda and sugary drink sales in Philadelphia. But there was a sharp increase in soda sales outside the cities鈥� limits.

鈥淏asically, it seems that a lot of people in Philadelphia are driving to stores right outside the city to buy their beverages,鈥� Auxier said. 鈥淲hen you take that into account, sales in and around the city dropped about 20%, not 46%.鈥�

People will drink whatever they want to drink.

In the District, proponents say the tax would help curb health disparities. Research has linked sugary drink consumption to heart disease and diabetes.

91茄子 half of all adults living in the District have diabetes or prediabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association. In 2016, 15% of adults living in Wards 7 and 8 had diabetes, a rate four times higher than Ward 3, D.C. Department of Health Data shows.

And, research from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, says the beverage industry targets communities of color. Black children are twice as likely to see TV ads for sugary drinks than white kids.

Auxier warned the tax may not be a stable source of revenue for the city. But, it could be too soon to tell.

鈥淚s it a good source of revenue? No, in a sense that it鈥檚 going to be volatile. It鈥檚 a little unpredictable,鈥� Auxier said. 鈥淵ou wouldn鈥檛 want to make a very important service depend on this revenue.鈥�

He estimates the tax would raise funds 鈥渋n the millions, not in the hundreds of millions.鈥�

Anacostia is one of the poorest neighborhoods in D.C. While the soda tax is designed to help the area鈥檚 residents, some view it as a punishment.

鈥淧eople don鈥檛 like it. They say, 鈥榃e are poor, we don鈥檛 have money,鈥欌�� said Fikre Aytenfisn, the manager at Anacostia Beer and Wine. 鈥淭hey expect everything to be a dollar because it has [a 99-cent sticker] on it.鈥�

Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White is a vocal supporter of the Healthy Beverages Act of 2019. His office did not respond to a request for comment from the Wash.

鈥淚t’s a poor area out here,鈥� Aytenfisn said. 鈥淢ost of them, they don鈥檛 want to pay.鈥�