Vermont House Committee Approves Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax

MONTPELIER, VT -- Vermont's House Committee on Ways and Means has approved a tax on soda and other sugary beverages. The half-cent levy on 1 fluidounce is a compromise that is less than the proposed 2¢ on the same volume which was passed by the House Committee on Health Care earlier in the session.

Previous versions proposed taxes only on beverages sweetened with added sugar, but the Ways and Means Committee expanded it to include artificially sweetened diet drinks. Milk products, 100% juices and beverages sweetened with maple syrup are exempt from the bill.

The soda tax is part of a broader healthcare reform bill that aims to raise about $18 million, which also includes tax increases on cigarettes and chewing tobacco.

Since the excise tax on soda would be applied at the distributor level, critics say retailers would simply disperse the additional cost across all their products, which would negate the intended behavioral changes motivated by the higher price point.

If the bill makes it through the House, it faces opposition in the Senate. Sen. Dick Mazza, who owns a convenience store, has said he and others would work to defeat the measure.