Bloomberg Backs Soda Tax Expansion

June 20, 2016
NACS Online

After success in Philadelphia, the former New York mayor is preparing to fund similar efforts out West.
​NEW YORK – CNBC reports that after successfully funding a campaign to pass a soda tax in Philadelphia, billionaire Michael Bloomberg wants to fund similar efforts in several other cities.
The former New York City mayor contributed about $1.6 million to the pro-tax efforts in Philadelphia, and is planning to support soda tax measures in San Francisco and Oakland, California, according to Howard Wolfson, a senior adviser to Bloomberg. The billionaire may also support soda tax drives in Seattle and Multnomah County in Oregon, which includes Portland, in 2017, Wolfson told the news source.
CNBC notes that passage of a soda tax in the nation’s fifth-largest city could be a turning point for health advocates’ messaging that sugary drinks and foods lead to obesity and diabetes. “If Berkeley [California] was a tremor, Philadelphia is an earthquake, and we expect there will be more earthquakes going forward,” Wolfson told the news source.
Following enactment of Philadelphia’s soda tax, the American Beverage Association (ABA) said it would seek legal action to stop the tax. According to CNBC, Wolfson did not rule out the possibility that Bloomberg would contribute to the city’s defense.

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