A proposal for a targeted tax on sodas in the District fizzled out Thursday.
The D.C. Council, which spent the day hashing out their view on potential budget measures, informally indicated their disapproval of a proposal by Ward 3 Councilwoman Mary Cheh to add a penny tax to each ounce of sugary drink sold in the city.
Cheh proposed the tax to pay for a $6 million-a-year healthy school act, which the council passed recently. The city’s chief financial officer said the city currently does not have enough money to implement the act, which requires schools to serve healthier food.
Cheh said her tax would promote the same behavior that the healthy school act does, trying to counter obesity — especially in children.
“I’m deeply disappointed,” Cheh said. “I think that we missed a perfect opportunity.”
Several council members had a litany of complaints against Cheh’s proposal, including that the tax applies too broadly, hurts lower-income families, and hadn’t followed the typical procedural process.
Ward 5 Councilman Harry Thomas Jr. said that Cheh’s taxes would apply to sports drinks like Gatorade and Muscle Milk. He said he doesn’t think residents should have to pay an extra 20 cents on a bottle of sports drink.
Thomas said he’d received a call from the actor Morgan Freeman seeking support of Cheh’s tax.
“Mr. Freeman I love you, but what about the Gatorade drinker,” Thomas said was his response.
Thomas said it would be better to fund the healthy schools initiative through existing funding in the school system.
Other council members said the tax would hurt their lower-income constituents who are already struggling financially.
Many on the seemed skittish about another tax increase as an election cycle draws near. Last year the council approved increasing the city sales tax from 5.75 percent to 6 percent, raised the gas tax by 3.5 cents a gallon, and increased taxes on cigarettes.
Cheh’s bill has face strong opposition by the beverage industry, which began a large-scale media blitz in the last week to kill the proposal.
“It [the tax] is going to push businesses out of the District,” Coca-Cola mid-Atlantic spokesman Curtis Etherly told The Washington Examiner recently.
Cheh doesn’t sound willing to concede defeat just yet. She said Thursday that there’s still a chance the council could vote to extend the city’s sales tax to include sugary drinks.
