Time For a Philly Coke Party (New Beverage Tax is Unfair)

[Deleted]

looking online this is what I found
Ingredients
Green tea (green tea extract from tea leaves), citric acid, natural flavor, ascorbic acid (to protect flavor), sucralose, acesulfame potassium.

How many calories per ml or whatever?

[Deleted]

what a terrible move

[Dadwen]

How many calories per ml or whatever?

Nutrition

Serving Size: 8 fl oz (237 mL)
Amount per Serving My Daily Value
Calories 0Kcal 0%
Calories from Fat 0Kcal 0%
Total Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Trans Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 25mg 1%
Total Carbohydrate 0g 0%
Dietary Fiber 0g 0%
Sugars 0g 0%
Added Sugars 0g 0%
Protein 0g 0%
Vitamin A 0IU 0%
Vitamin C 0mg 0%
Calcium 0mg 0%
Iron 0mg 0%

*not saying Lipton is great for you or anything but not really going to lead to being fat from what I can tell, seems silly to stick extra tax on it for "heath" reasons.

[ItachiZaku]

There are sugars in alcoholic beverages as well. Tax it up! Waht about restaurants with their free refills.... that could get nasty.

[Deleted]

Nutrition

Serving Size: 8 fl oz (237 mL)
Amount per Serving My Daily Value
Calories 0Kcal 0%
Calories from Fat 0Kcal 0%
Total Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Trans Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 25mg 1%
Total Carbohydrate 0g 0%
Dietary Fiber 0g 0%
Sugars 0g 0%
Added Sugars 0g 0%
Protein 0g 0%
Vitamin A 0IU 0%
Vitamin C 0mg 0%
Calcium 0mg 0%
Iron 0mg 0%

Ah, so it uses two sweeteners under 2 calories to claim to be calorie free due to US health and safety laws. Both of those sweeteners are rather dubious. And also 1% salt for a fucking tea drink.

I'd rather just have sugar.

[Orlong]

That is ridiculous. Crack is cheaper than diet tea.

Even beer is cheaper after this tax lol. Philly already taxed cigarettes so much that they are over $10 a pack and they actually lost millions per year because everyone just bought them outside the city where they are $3 less per pack.

PA really needs to pass a law that cities cannot institute their own taxes willy nilly and must abide by state taxes, and if they do allow municipalities/cities to institute their own "sin" taxes, then the proceeds should go to offset some kind of damage that the product being taxed causes, not just forked over to failing inner city schools that are already spending more money per kid annually than any other nation and still do and always will suck until they start disciplining the students, fining/jailing parents for being shitty parents, and rewarding the good students

[Skulltaker]

But this covers non sugar drinks too such as DIET sodas, teas, punch etc... as well as beneficial drinks like Gatorade. And regardless, why is it any of your business what people drink

It is, the moment it starts to affect others.

Obese people are now one of the, if not the biggest cost on the US health care system, aren't they? They cost other people's money. A lot. Which could be used to cure people who aren'T sick because they lack self-restraint and because the average US meal is 50% sugar and fat.

Also, they tend to pass on their unhealthy eating habits to their offspring, which leads to them being a) bullied and b) becoming a bother for society later.

There is nothing wrong with the occasional soda, same as with cake, fatty burgers and so on. But at a certain point, it starts to be threatening to society. It is of little use to t he US that you have a growing populace with an increasing workforce if more and more of them start to become incapacitated.

Sorry for the harsh words, but quiet frankly, every initiative by your gouvernment that can start you (as in the american people) onto a healthier lifestyle is a godsent.

[Dadwen]

Ah, so it uses two sweeteners under 2 calories to claim to be calorie free due to US health and safety laws. Both of those sweeteners are rather dubious. And also 1% salt for a fucking tea drink.

I'd rather just have sugar.

ya but not seeing it as something really that's going to make you fat, not really seeing the reason to stick the extra tax on things like this seems pointless. (and everything made today has something dubious in it, you'd be hard press to avoid it)

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It is, the moment it starts to affect others.

Obese people are now one of the, if not the biggest cost on the US health care system, aren't they? They cost other people's money. A lot. Which could be used to cure people who aren'T sick because they lack self-restraint and because the average US meal is 50% sugar and fat.

Also, they tend to pass on their unhealthy eating habits to their offspring, which leads to them being a) bullied and b) becoming a bother for society later.

There is nothing wrong with the occasional soda, same as with cake, fatty burgers and so on. But at a certain point, it starts to be threatening to society. It is of little use to t he US that you have a growing populace with an increasing workforce if more and more of them start to become incapacitated.

Sorry for the harsh words, but quiet frankly, every initiative by your gouvernment that can start you (as in the american people) onto a healthier lifestyle is a godsent.

umm don't most of them die at a younger age of a quick heart attack and not live to be 90+ and keep taxing the system?
*solves the Social security issue too if they kick off sooner...

[Orlong]

These taxes do tend to affect the poor more than anyone else. And that's really unfortunate. Because I generally support government initiatives to advance a healthy society.

Taxing cigarettes into oblivion worked. We do have some evidence that suggests soda taxes may work as well.

No it didnt. It just created a black market. People either go to another nearby city/state where they are cheaper and buy a bunch to bring home or they buy them on the street corner from someone else who did. Or you buy them online from a retailer where you can avoid paying the taxes. People arent going to buy a carton of Newports for $129.99 a carton (like they are in Chicago and Philadelphia) when they can get one for $29.99 at www.dutyfreedepot.com The net effect this has is cities who institute these asinine taxes often take in less money than they did when the tax was lower and surrounding municipalities benefit greatly from the increased business

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Taxing sugary shit is a good idea in the US due to the obesity epidemic..

Plastic bags
Now SODA!!!!!!!

OMG the sky is falling.

Who in the hell do you think you are to tell people that they dont have the right to be obese if they want to?

[Hiricine]

Most places have free refills anyways... so... eh.

Thats nonsense. Just wait until you can buy a soda subscription at your local supermarket and fill up your giant refillable soda container!

[Deleted]

ya but not seeing it as something really that's going to make you fat, not really seeing the reason to stick the extra tax on things like this seems pointless. (and everything made today has something dubious in it, you'd be hard press to avoid it)

Alot of Sweeteners, one posted on that tea, are shown to cause heart problems. A sweetener tax would be a fine blanket term.

[Orlong]

Best way around this--- sell small cups with free refills

Pretty sure once the dust all clears, there wont be anymore free refills in Philly. Because the tax is initially applied at the distribution level, any restaurant giving free refills would be paying the tax on the "free" soda they give you. The tax is on each ounce of drink, not the cost of the drink

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How much Corn Syrup and Tar does diet tea have?

Actually I dont believe any drink has tar in it

[Dadwen]

No it didnt. It just created a black market. People either go to another nearby city/state where they are cheaper and buy a bunch to bring home or they buy them on the street corner from someone else who did. Or you buy them online from a retailer where you can avoid paying the taxes. People arent going to buy a carton of Newports for $129.99 a carton (like they are in Chicago and Philadelphia) when they can get one for $29.99 at www.dutyfreedepot.com The net effect this has is cities who institute these asinine taxes often take in less money than they did when the tax was lower and surrounding municipalities benefit greatly from the increased business

if it's just a city tax it's mostly just going to hurt the poorer ones anyway that can't afford to drive to the country store, or next town over and pick some up, seems poorly thought out all around.

[Orlong]

The profits on fountain soda are insane % wise, this will not affect anything and certainly not be closing bussinesses. Jeez get a clue.

Thats true but the reason for that is because the profits on other items are only a few cents. It evens out

[TZucchini]

No it didnt.

Whether or not you want to believe it isn't really relevant to the discussion. Huge cigarette taxes work in reducing consumption. Especially among the youth and the poor. It's a fact.

[Daedius]

Governments got to nanny you...

[Orlong]

Part of the trouble and you kinda point it out in the Nation bashing is that tea can be made without sugar. So can coffee. Even Kool-aid can be made without sugar as well. So in order to be a proper tax on things bad for you you need to tax sugar itself. You should also tax salt if its all in the name of "keeping people healthy"

Are packets of non sweeten cool aid taxed as well as bags of tea and ground coffee?

The ultimate problem is that the tax isn't well thought out and is just a knee jerk reaction to something. Also its all about controlling the behavior of the population. I would bet that the coffee lobby had something to do with it. I wonder if they are taxing Starbucks.

From what Ive been able to research, this tax covers pretty much every beverage except water and juices containing 100% fruit juice (which is funny because 100% orange juice has way more sugar in it than iced tea and many regular sodas)

[Dadwen]

Actually I dont believe any drink has tar in it

ya the example tea giving, it has no sugar either with makes this law about "obesity" a bunch of BS

[Deleted]

Thats true but the reason for that is because the profits on other items are only a few cents. It evens out

No it doesn´t. Soda, especially fountain soda is a minimal part of a restaurant, or your bussiness model is already a complete failure.

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Who in the hell do you think you are to tell people that they dont have the right to be obese if they want to?

I am the guy paying high taxes in a society with universal healthcare. Who the hell are you? You really have a toddlers understanding of most subjects and see things in a very simplistic light.

I guess I will just wait for you to post a link that completely self-owns you and makes you look like a giant fool, like in the plastic bag thread you ran away from.

[Kapadons]

The government wasted its budget then sat around thinking up ways to drum a new tax to increase revenue. Probably never crossed their minds to reduce the budget or decrease their own salaries.

People are kidding themselves if they think this was done to reduce health care costs.