The sin tax comes to soda pop. Well, perhaps calling it a sin tax might be a little much, as we don't consider drinking soda pop a sin. We just consider it unhealthy.
But, if we tax alcohol and tobacco, because they are harmful, how about soft drinks?
In 2011, Rep. Dixon Pitcher of Ogden proposed a bill that would have placed a 1 percent tax on carbonated drinks and sports drinks. His fellow legislators didn't go along with the idea at the time, some suggesting they didn't want to be adding taxes at a time of economic downturn.
One percent? I say let it rip. Soda drinkers will hardly notice. Of course, that means they likely won't cut back on consumption, either, but bring the tax on.
Give the money to education, as Rep. Pitcher is proposing. And, should the public turn from from soft drinks (I understand that nationally, a wising-up America is taking in 20 percent less calories per capita via soft drinks than a decade ago) then pick up the lost revenue by taxing energy drinks or some such.
Taxes on non-essentials are fine. Sin taxes like this one are fine.
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