Illinois Lawmakers Consider Massive, Regressive Tax Hike On Low-Income Families (a.k.a “Soda Tax”)

To our complete lack of surprise, lawmakers in the State of Illinois are considering following in the footsteps of Philadelphia by imposing a 1 cent per ounce “soda tax” on all sugary beverages.
And while it’s being done under the guise of “improving public health,” precisely zero people believe that the Nanny State of Illinois cares about the sugar intake of its residents. Of course, the real motivation behind the so-called “soda taxes” springing up in liberal bastions across the country is the $100’s of million of tax dollars than can be generated to help them grow the Nanny State even bigger.
Lets look at a quick example of how the tax dollars add up. Lets say, just for fun, that the average person consumes one, 12 ounce, sugary beverage (soda, juice, etc.) per day. That would equate to roughly a $45 annual tax per person (12 ounces x 365 days x $0.01 per ounce). Multiply that by a family of 4 and the annual tax per household is $180 or roughly 30 bps of the median Illinois household income of $60,000.

This post was published at Zero Hedge on Jan 13, 2017.