Title
Authorizing the Committee on Labor to Hold Hearings Exploring the Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax and its Impact on Philadelphia Businesses, Trades, and Consumers
Body
WHEREAS, In 2017, the Council of the City of Philadelphia levied The Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax (SBT), covering the distribution of sweetened beverages intended for resale in Philadelphia. This includes any non-alcoholic beverage that lists sugar or any other sweetener as an ingredient. The current tax amounts to $0.015 per ounce of sweetened beverage, and requires Philadelphia consumers to pay, on average, an additional 32 percent for sweetened beverages; and
WHEREAS, Since the implementation of the SBT in 2017, PepsiCo reported an 80 to 100 employee layoff and 40 percent decrease in sales, Coca-Cola reported a 40-employee layoff and 32 percent decrease in sales, and the American Beverage Association reported a 1,192-employee layoff with a 29 percent decrease in sales; and
WHEREAS, Additionally, Philadelphia-area small businesses, including supermarkets, restaurants, and other retailers, have faced challenges in balancing profits and sales. A 2021 study found that within two years of the tax implementation, audits of independent food retail stores passed 137 percent of the tax onto consumers. Philadelphia supermarket owners have reported a 25 percent decline in business following the SBT’s passing, which they have linked to the closing of stores, most recently with a West Philadelphia ShopRite; and
WHEREAS, Teamsters Local 830, representing Philadelphia workers in the beverage industry, reported a 43 percent drop in Philadelphia sweetened beverage sales, while sweetened beverages within a five-mile radius of Philadelphia's border are up 20 percent; and
WHEREAS, Beverages affected by the SBT are most commonly affordable and readily accessible to low-income households. Those living in food deserts end up footing the bill while more well-off consumers leave the SBT’s purview to purchase beverages, and consequently their groceries, elsewhere; and
WHEREAS, The goal of the Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax was to improve public health and fund vital programs. However, it is imperative that we reexamine the success and equitability of the SBT, especially its impact on the most vulnerable populations of Philadelphia; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, Hereby authorizes the Committee on Labor to hold hearings exploring The Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax and its impact on Philadelphia businesses, trades, and consumers.
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