Soda Tax Opponents Rally Outside City Hall
Union workers, business owners, advocates for the soda industry and several City Council members gathered outside City Hall today to protest Mayor Nutter's proposed soda tax.
Soda Tax Opponents Rally Outside City Hall
Jan Ransom
Union workers, business owners, advocates for the soda industry and several City Council members gathered outside City Hall today to protest Mayor Nutter’s proposed soda tax.
The sugar-sweetened beverages tax is one of three proposals from Mayor Nutter to help provide funds to the cash-poor school district, which faces a $629 million deficit in the coming fiscal year. Nutter's other proposals include a 10 percent property tax hike and an increase on parking meter rates.
Over the blare of horns from soda truck drivers, opponents said the tax unfairly targets their industry.
“It’s real easy if you want to put things on the backs of working people,” said William Hamilton, president of Teamsters Joint Council No. 53. “This is just another way to do it, a fancier way by putting it on an industry that’s going to cause good hard-working jobs for this City. Just say no and we’ll be here to tell Mayor Nutter he won’t be getting it again this year.
Danny Grace business manager for Teamsters Union Local 830 said Nutter’s proposal is deplorable and should it pass members of the Union would file a lawsuit.
A soda-tax proposal from Nutter last year -- billed as an effort to plug a budget hole and curb obesity -- failed in City Council. This year, the Nutter administration argues that this tax is the best way to help stave off painful cuts and teacher layoffs at the school district.
But there seems no clear consensus for the tax yet on City Council. And they're running out of time to approve a funding plan. Four members attended the rally today -- Jannie Blackwell, Bill Green, Bill Greenlee and Brian O'Neill.
“In my opinion no matter what form it’s in the soda tax is illegal and not only that I know it’s unfair. It’s unfair to the industry, it’s unfair to the business people, to the workers and the consumer,” said Councilman Bill Greenlee. “I will continue to be against it because it is the wrong way to go.”
O'Neill also said he wouldn't support the tax.
“No one’s going to buy a soft-drink in Philadelphia unless they have no other choice,” O’Neill said. “That means anybody that produces distributes or sells beverages in Philadelphia is going to be in really bad shape and who does that eventually hurt the poor, the elderly and anybody with a job in this industry.”
Worst idea ever, but if they truely wanted to make it fair and tax something, tax all things premade with sugar...but i'm glad i moved out of the city limits and don't have to worry about this nosense anymore..— wcdave- TAX IT AT 10% a drink like they do alcohol drinks. You people don't like this tax because it affects you. To bad where were u when they keep taxing alcohol and smokes. So I say tax the soda and all sweet drinks and put a 20% tax on all cheeseburgers and fries.— RichH
- TAX IT AT 10% a drink like they do alcohol drinks. You people don't like this tax because it affects you. To bad where were u when they keep taxing alcohol and smokes. So I say tax the soda and all sweet drinks and put a 20% tax on all cheeseburgers and fries.— RichH
- O'Neill said,“No one’s going to buy a soft-drink in Philadelphia unless they have no other choice.” Just try to stop me from getting my Coke when I want one. It goes perfectly with pizza, burgers and chips. An extremest like Hamilton. And an opportunist perhaps who takes advantage of poor, uneducated people. "It's the end of the world!"— ptahan
- The government AT ANY LEVEL should not be taxing, regulating and trying to control what Americans eat or drink.— blackknight
- Terrible picture we do not want to see the DROP QUEEN TASCO anyehere at all. saidel would make a great mayor run jon run do not listen to don brady— the commodore
- Just put a 10% tax on it when the retailer buys it. Then if he/she wants to pass it on fine if not fine also.— RichH
Comment removed.- Comment removed.
- The suburb residents should just use their tax money (which they get from, you know, actually being productive, income-generating members of society) and put up a big fence around philly. Then they can do whatever the hell they want in there.— emoser
- They should legalize drugs and tax them. Corner Thugs gone.... Money Problems gone...— KINGOFZED
- No jobs will be lost because the same companies that are fighting this, sell bottled water that has a much larger profit margin. In addition to that, they sell fruit juices and other flavored beverages that probably will not be effected by this tax. Also, most of the business of the bottlers is in the suburbs where this tax is not enacted.— flavious27
- Why is it, the only time there's UNION RALLIES oppose to anything is when their LIVELIHOOD is affected??? e.g. TEACHERS UNION RALLY=LAYOFFS, TEAMSTERS RALLY=LOST OF SALE, CITY UNION RALLY=TO KEEP DROP ALIVE...Don't you get it, it's not about how it effects the STUDENTS, THE TAX-PAYER, it's about WHAT THEY LOSE!!!!— Dadair1
- And also, these are the same UNIONS, that contribute through PAC, AND SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS, WHO PUT THE KNUCKLEHEADS IN POWER, that cause all the problems with the BUDGETS!!!!— Dadair1
- I am a smoker and I say tax tobacco, tax alcohol, tax gasoline, tax all non commercial vehicles over 3000 pounds, and anything else that we do too much or which inherently causes us harm. Put the money toward alternative energy and education for all people, not just kids. There are plenty of "adults" out there who need to be taught the responsibility of having all this luxury. Most of us are so spoiled we dont know it. The left and the right hate each other in this country. That's a good thing. Let's give them the opportunity to watch each other more closely. Then let's fix this thing and move on. Tax soda? Yeah! Why not?— OldSouthPhilly
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David Gambacorta spent a small eternity writing about cops, drug dealers and serial killers. Now he’s writing about power and politics – which sometimes reminds him of the old crime beat. He joined the Daily News in 2005. And yes, he knows you’re not quite sure how to pronounce his last name. E-mail tips to gambacd@phillynews.com
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Jan Ransom, a native New Yorker, joined the Daily News in 2010 after graduating from Howard University. She has since written about the difficulty of filing police complaints, tax deadbeats and life after violent home invasions. She joined the Daily News City Hall Bureau in 2011 and has plunged headfirst into reporting on administration budget battles and City Council shenanigans. E-mail tips to ransomj@phillynews.com
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Sean Collins Walsh is from Bucks County and went to Northwestern University. He joined the Daily News copy desk in 2012 and now covers the Nutter administration. Before that, he interned at papers including The New York Times, The Dallas Morning News and The Seattle Times. E-mail tips to walshSE@phillynews.com
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