Posted on 05/12/2009 2:35:48 AM PDT by PghBaldy
Senate leaders are considering new federal taxes on soda and other sugary drinks to help pay for an overhaul of the nation's health-care system.
The taxes would pay for only a fraction of the cost to expand health-insurance coverage to all Americans and would face strong opposition from the beverage industry. They also could spark a backlash from consumers who would have to pay several cents more for a soft drink.
On Tuesday, the Senate Finance Committee is set to hear proposals from about a dozen experts about how to pay for the comprehensive health-care overhaul that President Barack Obama wants to enact this year. Early estimates put the cost of the plan at around $1.2 trillion. The administration has so far only earmarked funds for about half of that amount.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington-based watchdog group that pressures food companies to make healthier products, plans to propose a federal excise tax on soda, certain fruit drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks and ready-to-drink teas. It would not include most diet beverages. Excise taxes are levied on goods and manufacturers typically pass them on to consumers.
Senior staff members for some Democratic senators at the center of the effort to craft health-care legislation are weighing the idea behind closed doors, Senate aides said.
The Congressional Budget Office, which is providing lawmakers with cost estimates for each potential change in the health overhaul, included the option in a broad report on health-system financing in December. The office estimated that adding a tax of three cents per 12-ounce serving to these types of sweetened drinks would generate $24 billion over the next four years. So far, lawmakers have not indicated how big a tax they are considering.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
>> The rest of us wont have out taxes raised a cent.
Bambi loves me, this I know
For Tim Geithner told me so
To “the rich” the bill belongs,
We are poor but they are strong!
Yes, Bambi loves me,
Yes, Bambi loves me.
Yes, Bambi loves me,
Tim Geithner told me so.
I thought cigarette taxes were going to take care of that jiffy...
Be prepared to sweeten your own lemonade and tea, or pay the Sugar Tax for pre-sweetened tea and lemonade. This tax proposal includes Gatorade as well.
$.03 tax per 12oz translates to more than $.15 per two-liter bottle.
How about stopping the idiots who go to the emergency rooms for a pin prick, hangover,head lice,..etc.
Sheesh! Home remedies for that.
I come from a long line of family members if you went to a doctor it was serious. If you went to a hospital,chances are , you die.
Great grandparents lived to in their 90s.
I disagree completely with the Rats’ plan, but I understand why they would tax something considered unhealthy and high calorie. They figure unhealthy and/or high calorie foods/beverages add more weight which may lead to obesity and problems associated with that. That in turn means the government will have to pay more for health care.
I use my TV for DVDs, it doesn't get any reception right now. I'd like the libs to try to tax me for its use--I'd dump the thing on the White House lawn.
LMAO!
Salt. Milk, Meat & Butter Tax to cover the fat.
You can eat oatmeal guilt free--but you'll pay dearly if you want it to taste different than cardboard.
Expect more new federal taxes on common retail items, and heavier taxation of existing ones --- tobacco taxes have already been raised, and you can expect gasoline to soon follow.
Hey! Don't 'squeeze' the Charmin!
Seriously, what Constitutional authority does the FedGov have to be doing the things they claim are the reason for levying these taxes, anyway?
That is the question, not "what should they tax?", but "Why in the heck is there a tax in the first place?"
>> I’d dump the [teevee] on the White House lawn.
I’ll join you. The only monitor I watch is my ‘puter screen.
But be sure to purchase and affix your “Electronics Disposal Tax Stamp” prior to dumping. :-)
THey’re going after fruit juices now too... sugar is sugar, they say.
>> How about stopping the idiots who go to the emergency rooms for a pin prick, hangover,head lice,..etc.
If you want to stop emergency room abuse, the first step is to learn to speak Spanish.
Doesn't work that way. Once they start down this path, there's no end to what they'll tax to change your behavior and "pay" for health care. Bullets hurt people - tax them. Cars injure people in accidents - tax them. Necks get contorted from working on computers all day and keyboards cause carpal tunnel problems - tax them. Fireplaces cause pollution and asthma - tax them. You're not walking your government-required 5 miles per day - special assessment tax for you, buddy, because your ilk is ruining the healthcare of the nation. Burning fossil fuels causes CO2 which hurts our health - tax fossil fuels. Oh, wait, they've got that one already covered.
This will be a pretense to lard higher and higher taxes on all of us, but it's "for our health" so it'll be ok.
>> You can eat oatmeal guilt free—but you’ll pay dearly if you want it to taste different than cardboard.
I bet yogurt will be okay, since it’s a “politically correct” food substance. Oprah and three quarters of the bimbos in Hollywood would have a cow if they taxed yogurt.
Government causes high blood pressure and strokes! TAX IT
(maybe I’m on to something, eh?)
Heaven help this country.
Why not just have everyone weighed on 15 April? Then tax all the fat people.
I haven’t drank soda in many years and I don’t smoke either.
Seems to me I've heard that before. Maybe there's hope...
The Sugar Act: Titled The American Revenue Act of 1764On April 5, 1764, Parliament passed a modified version of the Sugar and Molasses Act (1733), which was about to expire. Under the Molasses Act colonial merchants had been required to pay a tax of six pence per gallon on the importation of foreign molasses. But because of corruption, they mostly evaded the taxes and undercut the intention of the tax ... This act, and the Currency Act, set the stage for the revolt at the imposition of the Stamp Act.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.