Proposed Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax

Why tax sugary beverages in Davis?

Funds raised by the soda tax will be used to support the services that Davis residents most need to help keep our children healthy and active. Davis has been a leader in promoting healthy living for decades: its network of bike paths dates from the 1960s andit leads the nation in the farm-to-school movement. Davis was the first city to serve locally grown products in school lunches and it boasts the nation’s most popular farmer’s market of its size. The logical next step is to become the next US city to pass a sugary beverage tax.

How much is the tax and how much money would it raise?

The proposed one-cent per ounce tax on the Distributors of sugar-sweetened beverageswill generatefrom $1-2 million annually. Revenue collected in Berkeley in the first year of its tax is projected to be over $1 million and has been earmarked for healthy living programs. In Davis, the Social Service and Parks & Recreation Commissions,with the Davis Unified School Board, will gather information from residents as to how tax revenues can best be spent each year to keep Davis children healthy and active and present recommendations to the Council.

How would it work?

This is NOT a tax on businesses in Davis. Rather it is an excise fee charged to companies distributing sugary sweetened beverages in the City of Davis. These will include:

  • Sodas (e.g., Pepsi, Coke, Sprite, Dr. Pepper)
  • Vitamin WaterEnergy Drinks (e.g., Monster, Redbull)
  • Powdered sugary drinks (e.g., Country Time Lemonade, Kool-Aid)

Presumably, the additional cost to retailers will be passed on to consumers of these products. One year after passage of a similar tax, sales of sugary beverages in Mexico fell as much as 12 percent while bottled water purchases rose 4 percent, a recent study found. Thus the tax promotes health in two ways.

Timeline and Needs

As a first step, 4 of the 5 City Council members must vote to put the measure on the June ballot and give Davis residents the opportunity to vote for or against the tax. To succeed in giving Davisites the opportunity to make this choice, we need to make our voices heard at the February 2nd and 16th council meetings. We need residents like you to attend.