The tax man will not cometh for Davis’ sugary beverages after all.
In a 3-2 vote Tuesday, the Davis City Council rejected a measure which would have placed a one-cent-per-ounce soda tax on the June 2016 ballot. The proposal, modeled after a similar tax in Berkeley, was introduced late last year.
Tuesday’s vote was criticized by public health advocates, but drew relief and praise from local business owners.
"When these kinds of proposals are put together, it's always the small consumers and small businesses that get hurt first," said Suresh Kumar, who owns the Olive Drive Market in Davis. "If you see what they've done in Berkeley, I have not heard anything positive about the tax that's been imposed."
The council was eyeing the tax as a way to raise revenue for public work projects, while also hoping to curb the childhood obesity epidemic. However, a recent Cornell University study suggests that the sugary beverage tax in Berkeley has done little to stem consumption.
In the end, the council worried that well-funded opposition to the measure would not be worth the revenue it would bring. Instead, members voted 4-1 to move forward with an increase in the existing transient occupancy tax.
Read more about Tuesday’s vote here.
Image Credit: Flickr User 33671002@N00, https://flic.kr/p/9RuZSx via (CC BY-SA 2.0)