Democrats push a new soda tax

Bend Over for More Democrat Taxes

Taxes on top of taxes on top of taxes on top of taxes

and they always need more.

Leftist Loon Democrat San Francisco officials again are trying to raise money for government coffers by taxing soda and other sweetened drinks, an effort that’s previously failed to gain traction locally and in other U.S. cities.

Four city lawmakers announced Saturday that they are introducing legislation that would impose a 2 cent-per-ounce tax on soft drinks, sports drinks and energy drinks. If passed by the full 11-member Board of Supervisors, the measure would go before local voters for approval or rejection in November.

The tax would be levied on beverage distributors and retailers who obtain their products directly from manufacturers. Democrat officials estimate it could generate as much as $31 million a year reports CBS News.

Under the proposal set to be introduced Tuesday, the Democrats claim the money would have to be used to fund recreation and nutrition programs in schools and at recreation centers, public bottle-filling and drinking fountains, healthy food services and dental health initiatives.

San Francisco also has visited the issue before. Former Mayor Gavin Newsom floated the idea in 2009 of charging large retailers a fee on the sugary drinks they sold. He abandoned the plan a year later, citing opposition from the business community. In 2012, voters in two other California communities, Richmond and El Monte, rejected a penny-per-ounce tax on business that sold sugary drinks.

A new anti-tax campaign advocacy group funded by the American Beverage Association, called Coalition for an Affordable City, already has a website urging San Francisco residents to lobby against the proposal.

“This is not just a tax on soda. This is a tax on juice drinks, ice teas, powdered drinks, sports drinks, and hundreds of other beverages,” the site states. “The last thing we need is a tax that makes it even more expensive to live and work in San Francisco.”