A Boston city councilor is hoping to kick sugar cravings to the curb by proposing a tax on sugary drinks that will be intended to make you think twice about choosing a sugary soda over water, for example.
Boston’s District 8 City Councilor Sharon Durkan proposed the so-called "Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax" – or SSBT – at Wednesday’s city council meeting.
Specifically, her proposal includes floating the idea of a two-cent per ounce tax on sugary beverages -- that means a 20-ounce soda would have a 40-cent tax added to it in Boston.
Durkan says the tax could generate 20 to 30 million dollars annually for the City of Boston. That’s revenue that she says could be used to “invest in food literacy programs that teach families how to cook nutritious meals, and support recreational spaces and youth sports.”
Durkan says the city council “could also allocate a portion of the revenue to the general fund, helping to address citywide priorities like infrastructure, housing, and education.”
She says this proposal is intended to combat growing health problems in the city, noting that health experts link sugary drinks to Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.
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“This isn’t just about cutting back on sugary drinks—it’s about creating a healthier, more equitable city and generating revenue for programs that meet our greatest public health needs,” Durkan wrote.
Massachusetts tried and failed to enact a sugar tax back in 2017, and the state would have to give Boston the authority to enact a sugar tax, so this is really just the start of the discussion Wednesday.