Lawsuit Seeks to Block Cook County Soda Tax

The penny-per-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened and artificially sweetened drinks was set to begin July 1.

June 30, 2017

COOK COUNTY, Ill. – The Illinois Retailers Association has asked a county judge for a temporary injunction to stop the new Cook County soda tax from being enacted, WGN-TV reports. The tax would add a penny-per-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened and artificially sweetened beverages, the Chicago Tribune reports. The lawsuit alleges that the tax is unconstitutional. Retailers also said the tax is too vague to implement fairly.

The tax applies to any nonalcoholic beverage sweetened with sugar or artificial sweeteners: soft drinks, diet soda, fountain drinks, ready-to-drink sweetened teas and coffees, sports and energy drinks and juice drinks that aren’t 100% juice. A big difference between Cook County’s soda tax and other U.S. soda taxes is that the tax won’t apply to purchases made under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

The county will use the money collected from the new tax to fund current services and projects. “We know we needed revenue, and property tax was off the table. We'd raised the sales tax. We decided to do something that would not only raise revenue, but would have a public health impact,” said Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County board president. The county estimates that the tax will generate around $200 million annually.

The American Beverage Association has started the Can the Tax coalition with local retailers to repeal the tax. Retailers close to the county line fear that customers will shop elsewhere to avoid paying the tax. “This is a terrible, regressive tax that will hurt consumers and impact businesses,” said Brian Jordan, president of the Illinois Food Retailers Association.

Retailers also expressed their concern over the SNAP exemption. The county attempted to ease the burden on SNAP retailers with a temporary measure during the first year of the soda tax implementation.

Earlier this month, Seattle voters approved a soda tax, while in May, Santa Fe voters rejected a city tax on soft drinks. Meanwhile, Philadelphia’s city tax on soda has had unexpected repercussions with Pepsi yanking 2-liters and 12-packs from store shelves in direct response to the tax.

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