Kansas wants to add a 10 cent sales tax on every can of soda

[demtenjeep]

Kansas would impose a new tax on soda — a penny for every teaspoon of sugar — under a proposal for closing a budget shortfall.

The Senate Ways and Means Committee agreed Tuesday to sponsor the bill at the request of Republican Sen. John Vratil of Leawood. The measure would raise $90 million during the fiscal year beginning July 1.

The cost to consumers would be a dime on every 12-ounce can of regular soda.

The Senate committee is also weighing a proposal to raise sales and tobacco taxes.

Kansas faces a projected $467 million budget shortfall for the fiscal year beginning July 1. Top Republican senators, including Vratil, are pushing for $300 million in tax increases.

http://www.kake.com/home/headlines/87144477.html

[Skink]

1. they should go after corn syrup.

it's in every food product just about.

[iamjoy]

7. Ditto, That

but if they taxed high fructose corn syrup the "farmers" would complain. I put farmer in quotes because the agri-business giants would get together and launch a campaign making it sound like the corn syrup tax was going to drive out the poor family farmer (when really it is agri-business destroying the independent farmer).

isn't there a correlation between obesity rates in this country and the prevalence of HFCS? Now I don't believe in Nanny Government, but I do believe that eating healthy shouldn't cost more and be harder than eating crap.

[GoCubsGo]

17. They WOULD be taxing it here...

Most non-diet soda is sweetened with HFCS. I'm very surprised that Kansas was the first to come up with this tax in light of that.

[barbiegeek]

18. Before Corn Syrup they were sugar beet farmers

Either way we have to grow a sugar on the mainland. It's either coming from Corn or it will come from Sugar Beets like the old days. The excess from sugar beets is not as nutritious and can't be used in as many variety of products as corn.

When the explorers in the middle ages brought back corn to Europe they experienced a population boom, because it's easy to grow (compared to wheat) and because it is so large it make far more grain and meal.

Listen, I don't like the corporate agri-giants like Monsanto either, but Corn is the original American crop. Wheat, barley, rye was all imported here.
Don't blame the food blame the Agri-giants.

BTW--most wheat barley & rye is imported from Canada NOT grown here.

Read the Book 1491 and learn about Corn/Maize

And yes, I'm from the heartland. Wheat is in everything too and if you have a family member with Autism like me, your grateful for corn/gluten free products.

[Guilded Lilly]

2. I drink more than my fair share of Diet Pepsi

...and I live in Ohio. It wouldn't bother me to have to pay a tax on my soda habit.

[demtenjeep]

3. IF that tax went to save our school system, I might not complain

but I already pay enough taxes in Gas and Cigs. I do NOT want this too.

[Quantess]

4. That's pretty high.

The Oregon Bottle Bill charges a refundable .05 per can. These days, that is enough money to make people return the bottles and cans for the refund. In fact, it's enough to make some people dig them out of the trash.

[kestrel91316]

5. Works for me. Even if I lived in KS, which I don't. I know better than to drink sugary sodas.

[proud2BlibKansan]

6. I don't drink pop but this is ridiculous

If they eliminate the sales tax exemptions they would be able to meet the deficit. And they wouldn't have to tax pop.

[aikoaiko]

8. So does this means diet sodas would be exempt?

[Pisces]

9. Good, I'm all for it. Drink it like a luxury item, not like water.

[Travis_0004]

11. Stupid

I hate when the government singles out certain people because they need money.

We need health care for Children, let tax smokers!!!!, we need to fix a budget shortfall, lets tax pop!

I'm for helping out children, but why don't we spread the cost to everybody, not just a small group. Pop and smoking does cause health issues, and sometimes the government foots the bill, so there should be a tax to pay for those cost, but not a tax to pay for stuff totally unrelated.

(And I don't smoke, and maybe drink 1 can of pop a week)

[dustbunnie]

23. Lol, it's much more than a small group. It's the non-soda drinkers that are the huge minority. n/t

[LooseWilly]

10. Good... we smokers can't bear the whole tax burden alone.

Tax nutrasweet and corn syrup and rudabagoes too. And cologne. And hairspray. And loafers. And, while we're at it, let's tax belt buckles 300%. And tubesocks 700%.

I hate tubesocks. They make the baby Jesus puke in his divine crib.

[Ozymanithrax]

12. Good idea...

[Broke In Jersey]

13. wimps....they should have made it 20 cents... nt

[asdjrocky]

14. Wow.

Another stupid move in Kansas.

[Neecy]

15. In the end, this will just hurt Kansas businesses

A big swath of the population of Kansas lives within a few miles of the Missouri border. They'll just drive to Missouri to do their grocery shopping, bypassing Kansas grocery stores altogether.

[proud2BlibKansan]

21. There are lots of things I already buy in MO

If I was a pop drinker I'd just add that to my list.

[Toots]

16. While the very wealthy pay less and less the regular folk get the shaft again and again.

Wonder when Democrats will jump on this Republican band wagon?

[-..__...]

19. States that pull this kind of crap...

deserve to have a fiscal crisis.

[bigwillq]

20. I'm all for it (nt)

[randr]

22. Taxes on harmful substances is a good thing

Taxes on tobacco are largely responsible for the drop in tobacco addiction. If the cost of sugar filled substances were more in line with the real costs to society people would think twice about what is appropriated to feed a child.
Kansas is a good place to start. Whenever we have traveled though what my wife and I refer to as "The Great Mid-waist" we are astounded at the size of the people we encounter and the lack of any nutritional food along the way.

[JoeyT]

24. Whee. More nannying.

Just what we need.

Given the disparity in food poisoning caused by organic foods, we really need to start taxing those.
Well, not really. But anyone demanding higher taxes on something just because they don't like it is never a good idea.