End the taxation addiction
Americans are getting fatter. It’s true. And at a time when our government should be getting leaner, it seems some legislators are stilling packing it on with additional taxation.
New York Governor David Paterson is pushing to approve a penny-per-ounce tax on soft drinks beyond the state’s current 4 percent sales tax rate. Why? One billion dollars in new tax revenue, that’s why. Paterson says the tax would discourage people from drinking sodas, juices and energy drinks that he and others have deemed as the cause of fatness.
Gov. Paterson, there are two problems with your “fix.” First, Americans don’t have a problem overpaying for beverages. Starbuck’s proved that, and so did the bottled water industry. Don’t expect a higher cost to drive consumers away. It won’t. Second, and more serious, this new taxation will create an out-of-control addiction. We have seen it happen with tobacco and alcohol. Yes, overuse of these items is unhealthy, but the need for the tax revenue from them has become more of an addiction than any cigarettes or beer that are consumed. Our elected officials now need that money to continually fund the new and unnecessary programs they create.
We must also realize that soft drink companies are some of the most clever and successful marketers in the world. If we think for a moment that they won’t suddenly add the minimum requirement of juice into these drinks to skirt the law, then we are only fooling ourselves. And — surprise! — these drinks will suddenly become good for us, too.
Gov. Paterson is not alone. A growing and concerning number of legislators want to make soft drinks and other items they deem unhealthy to have additional taxation. This is a dangerous move, and one legislators here should not consider.
This taxation is not about “getting healthy.” Legislators are simply implementing a marketing ploy to make us feel better about their efforts while they snag more of our hard-earned money.
Government started a diet and needs to stay on it without additional taxation. It is time to end the addiction. CV
