Soda tax goes flat in Santa Fe (NM - Elites rebuffed)

The Albuquerque Journal ^ | May 2, 2017 | T.S. Last

[CedarDave]

SANTA FE – A national trend in favor of so-called “soda tax” initiatives took a hit Tuesday when Santa Fe voters soundly rejected a proposed 2-cents-per-ounce tax on the distributors of sugar-sweetened beverages in a special election unlike anything New Mexico’s capital city has seen before.

Santa Fe’s 2-cents-per-ounce proposal would have matched Boulder, Colo., as the highest in the nation and was aimed at financing an effort to make 1,000 pre-kindergarten education slots available to Santa Fe children for free or at affordable rates.

The campaign drew intense interest locally and money poured in from outside the state, with nearly $3.3 million spent for and against the tax. Billionaire Michael Bloomberg, former mayor of New York City, helped counteract the soda industry’s dollars by providing more than $1 million in support of the pro-tax effort.

A record 37.6 percent of registered voters turned out for the election – more than the hotly contested 2014 three-way race for mayor won by Javier Gonzales, who proposed the tax – and 58 percent voted “no.”

The final tally was 11,533 against the soda tax and 8,382 in favor. Voters in the city’s middle- and lower-income neighborhoods went against the tax in huge numbers, while the vote in Santa Fe’s affluent north and east sides split almost precisely 50-50.

The split between Santa Fe’s neighborhoods showed up in the voting. The south side’s lower-income, more Hispanic District 3 voted 1,719 to 649 against the tax. The vote in mid-city District 4 was the most significant – 3,694 against to 1,628 in favor.

The high-end, northeast District 1 was the only district to go for the tax, but barely – 3,203 for to 3,187 against. Neighboring District 2 narrowly rejected the tax 2,933 against to 2,902 for.

[CedarDave]

Gotta love it: In Santa Fe the elite population (living with Daddy’s money) pushed this tax. The lower class and majority Hispanics who would pay the price turned out in force to defeat this.

[CedarDave]

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[Mears]

Just add more taxes to cigarettes-—— no one would really care./s

.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

Best news from Santa Fe since 1680! The elites are on the run!

[Dilbert San Diego]

Question —. What’s with the idea of raising soda taxes with the funds to be earmarked for some odd K education program??

What does one subject have to do with the other?

Why the need for a special tax for a particular program? What about all the taxes already paid by people in Santa Fe? Where is that going and why can’t any existing tax revenue go to this, if indeed pre K programs are so deserving of taxpayer support??

[BipolarBob]

The lines at the Indian casino tobacco sales will only grow longer.

[CedarDave]

One of the arguments against the tax was that Santa Fe has a budget surplus that could be used to fund the pre-K program. For the elites, the tax was a two-fer: Sugary drinks are bad for kids; gotta help the under privileged pre-K kids.
(Actually a three-fer - we elites love new taxes!)

[discostu]

People tend to vote yes if they say them money will go to education. Then it lands in the general fund and they spend the money however they want.

[V_TWIN]

I hear Saul Goodman was instrumental in getting this nixed. :)

[Tanniker Smith]

2 cents per ounce? Seriously?

Twenty ounce bottles, which around here in NY have a 5 cent deposit, would cost an extra 40 cents on top of that.

And what about the 2-liter and 3-liter bottles? Quick, do your metric conversion everyone!

I don't want to even think about the movie beverages! (which would, if they were smart, just include this already into the ridiculous price.)

[T-Bird45]

This truly surprises me, having been in NM for the run-up to the 2012 election and seeing so many “Obama” bumper stickers. Your analysis is spot on regarding who would really pay the tax.

[vette6387]

They don’t call it “NEW” Mexico for nothing! My wife’s cousin and her worthless retired husband university professor retired to SF from a well-known New England University. SF is a $hit hole of retired “lieberals” from academia!

[Trump20162020]

The final tally was 11,533 against the soda tax and 8,382 in favor.

There is something I really hate about these types of ballot referendums on increasing taxes on tobacco or soda or whatever. The people who don't use said product will generally vote for the tax, essentially voting to tax their own neighbor for daring to enjoy something they don't. Screw them.

[IYAS9YAS]

And what about the 2-liter and 3-liter bottles?

A two-liter of brand name soda sells for around $1.35 locally (Albuquerque/Rio Rancho, NM). The store brand is around a dollar. There are roughly 33.8 fluid ounces in a liter, making a two-liter bottle come to 67.6 ounces. 67.6 x 2 is $1.35 (rounded). It effectively doubles the name brand stuff, and is a 135% increase on the store brands.

On top of this, chocolate milk and real fruit juices with 100% real fruit juice was not taxed, even though they're both loaded with sugar.

Worst deal was powdered drink mixes (such as Country Time lemonade) were taxed not at the weight of the product sold, but at the amount of fluid the mix made at the recommended mix ratio. So, the big, 82.5 ounce container of Country Time Lemonade Mix, which makes 34 quarts, and which sells for under $10 anywhere, would now cost you an additional $21.76 in new taxes (34 quarts x 32 ounces in a quart = 1,088 fluid ounces x 0.02 = $21.76).

[LaRueLaDue]

“Best news from Santa Fe since 1680! The elites are on the run!”

Pueblo Revolt of 1680 - when the elites did run!

[Crusher138]

Very happy it didn’t pass.

If it had passed, they were going to try it in Albuquerque next.

We live in Rio Rancho, just outside of Albuquerque. I had actually already been in discussions with a developer to build a “Beverage Stop” right on the border of our communities.

Making lemonade out of lemons, ya’ know...

[itsahoot]

Your analysis is spot on regarding who would really pay the tax.

Article last mont said soda was one of the big items purchased with food stamps or whatever they call them today.

[jiggyboy]

Crossing them off my vacation list just for proposing it. The list gets a little longer every month but that’s ok.

[jiggyboy]

Google for “philadelphia soda tax” for real-life horror stories of what a crime against capitalism it is.

[cyclotic]

Wow, so just because you don’t drink soda (pop where I’m from) then taxing those of us who do is A-OK.

Perhaps you should look at what a soda tax has done to Philadelphia. They rammed through a $015.00 (1.5 cents) per OUNCE soda tax.

Not only are sales down drastically, local bottling companies have laid off staff. I think the Coca-Cola bottled let 100 people go.

That’s the stupidity of taxes like this.