Cook County, Illinois, home to the city of Chicago, introduced a new sin tax this July: a tax on sweetened beverages.
This tax aims to benefit the health of Cook County citizens and, arguably more importantly, relieve Chicago of its debt burden. In 2016, Illinois ranked 49 out of the 50 states in the country in terms of overall debt.
Though this new tax is in line with other sin taxes, it should be repealed.
The new regulations tax each ounce of applicable beverages by one cent. Overall, the county expects to make over $200 million in 2018 alone. One cent per fluid ounce does not seem steep but would raise the price of a two-liter soda by 67 cents.
That's a considerable amount considering two-liter sodas can be purchased for as little as $1 when on sale.
At first glance, this tax seems no different than any other sin tax. Illinois currently ranks seventh highest in state sin tax rates and heavily taxes liquor and tobacco products, so Cook County’s move to tax sweetened beverages seems like a logical next step. This tax is anything but logical, however.
An argument exists for the presence of sin taxes. Charging more for unhealthy, habit-forming substances does indeed reduce usage of these products and thus saves on various costs, such as health care, while providing income to the state.
Like it or not, these taxes are and always will be a reality in this country. With that said, the sweetened beverage tax in Cook County is not the same as a tax on alcohol or tobacco.
This tax has many illogical inconsistencies. For example, diet sodas, which are sugar-free, are still taxed the same as sugar-filled sodas. Fruit juices, which contain very high levels of sugar, remain untouched by this new legislative measure.
Though diet sodas do have some health risks, they are not as harmful to one's health as regular soda and should not be taxed at the same rate.
This inconsistency suggests this tax is not focused on the health of Cook County residents but is merely a cheap attempt to lift Chicago from its financial burdens.
Cook County’s new tax also holds dangerous implications for future taxation. If sweetened beverages are taxed under the guise of health concerns, then the same argument can, and potentially will, be used for any unhealthy products such as candy, drink mixes and breakfast cereals or even be extrapolated to condiments like barbecue sauce or ketchup.
Chicago undeniably needs to address its growing debt problem, but this sweetened beverage tax is not the solution. Sin taxes are problematic by themselves, and this one, specifically, is illogical and inconsistent and has the potential to create a very slippery slope.
Cook County needs to rethink this regulation and choose another route to solve its financial struggles.
sareynol@indiana.edu
