Bad facts fuel another whack attack on Soda Tax

This week, in the winter doldrums of December, Councilman Allan Domb silently submitted a motion apparently on the the behalf of the American Beverage Association.

The motion calls for a hearing on the Soda Tax but cites the same dubious claims perpetuated by the beverage industry to sink not only Philly’s watershed pre-K tax, but similar initiatives across the country.

The cynical maneuver puts at risk the thousands of pre-K seats funded by the tax or could put property tax payers on the hook for $67 million to cover the shortfall that would result in a Soda Tax repeal.

You’d be hard pressed to come up with another piece of legislation that was so thoroughly discussed and debated as Philadelphia’s savvy Soda Tax. While PCCY was at every related hearing and community meeting, even we lost track of exactly how many there were. But we do know City Council logged more than 43 hours of hearings.

We endured all of it gladly because we knew the biggest winners of taxing soda distributers would be generations of children whose destinies would be changed because they would be able to attend quality pre-K and grow up in safe and nurturing public spaces like revamped libraries and repaired playgrounds that all kids deserve.

While there was always a risk soda distributers would push their tax upon consumers, the overwhelming majority of Philadelphians were clear about where they stood on paying a few cents more for Coke, declaring, “Our kids are worth it.

In defiance of the beverage industry, City Council wisely sided with their constituents and voted overwhelming to invest in our future.

The legislation received a key yes vote from the typically tax-averse Councilman Domb after the Mayor’s Office agreed to act on two campaign promises, reforming property assessments and increasing delinquent tax collections. So why this flip-flop?     

The Councilman will likely downplay the misleading information embedded in his motion, saying he’s simply calling for a hearing on the pre-K tax. But that argument would be disingenuous seeing as how the veteran council member knows full well there’s a rigorous review mechanism already in place called the city budget process. Or will he now recommend separate hearings on every initiative City Hall passes? 

We fought back against the ABA’s paid “protesters”, millions of dollars in fear-mongering advertising, and continue to fight against the industry’s insidious state-level preemption tactics. While the tax came into effect two years ago, the industry’s costly lawsuit to quash it was only just defeated this summer. As more and more consumers continue to choose healthier habits, we fully expect so-called Big Soda to employ increasingly desperate tactics.  

Fortunately, the American Beverage Association doesn’t have a seat in City Council.

Unfortunately, Councilman Allan Domb is acting as if he has a seat in the deep pocket of Big Soda.