If you live in Cook County (Chicago and its inner suburbs), and you like lemonade, you might want to consider making your own thanks to an onerous 1¢ per ounce soda (and more) tax that starts today.
Proposed Cook County soda tax has little to do with health
We wrote about the overbearing "soda tax" last month when there was little to any chance of the tax being put into the system. A judge ruled not on the merits of the tax but whether the county could legally collect the tax. And so people who live in Chicago will be taxed 3 times for soda pop purchases. Those in the county (including Chicago) will pay the onerous 1¢ per ounce soda (and more) tax on lemonade, energy drinks, and yes, diet drinks.
For those of you who applaud soda taxes to fix health, this tax won't help a bit. The money isn't going to health programs. Consumption may go down some but Philadelphia's numbers didn't hit their target.
What is covered under the Cook County soda tax (Cook County)
Instead of further rants (however justified), let's look at alternative solutions:
- Since lemonade and similar drinks are covered, try making your own homemade lemonade. Follow a classic recipe to start but adapt as needed. You can use fresh lemons or buy bottled lemon juice. Don't be limited to regular sugar or even raw or cane sugar. Agave nectar, honey, maple syrup, other fruit juices are ways to sweeten the drink. If you add the sugar, you won't be taxed.
- You could do Sodastream or something similar. The tax on the syrup covers how many ounces of drink, not syrup. The equivalent will weigh less but cost the same per ounce of drink. You can mix to the strength you want.
- Buy a high-quality soft drink. If a 2-liter regular soda is 99¢ and comes with an extra 68¢, the tax will look even more outrageous. If you buy a 12 oz. bottle of soda with cane sugar that costs 99¢, the extra tax is "only" 12¢.
- You could water down your drink to stretch the drink cost over time. I had a friend who would water down her Diet Coke years ago. If your drink is too strong or too sweet, water will diffuse that rather well.
- Find a drink that is similar to soda but not covered by the tax, such as seltzer water.
- You could have fewer soft drinks. Use soft drinks for a special occasion instead of being bored with water.
As of this morning, people in the City of Chicago will pay 3 different taxes on regular soft drinks: sales tax, a 3% city tax, and the 1¢/ounce tax from the county. Even if you hate the idea of soft drinks, you have to admit this is very unfair.
All those people in Cook County also have their taxpayers dollars used to subsidize high-fructose corn syrup. If those subsidies disappeared, fewer people would buy soft drinks with that ingredient. That will truly reduce the obesity impact of soft drinks. If that is the ultimate goal, the cut in subsidies is a better weapon than soda taxes that aren't connected to health solutions.
photos credit: me
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