One of my first few blog posts when I started this site was about the city of Baltimore and its soda tax. In an attempt to balance the city budget, the city council passed a two cents per container tax on beverages. Pepsi’s response was to shut down production at the Baltimore plant, putting 75 people out of work. Grocery stores reported sales were down because nearby counties did not have the tax. I learned today that the tax increased to five cents per container in 2013.

Early last year the city of Philadelphia passed something similar, imposing a 1.5 cent-per-ounce tax on sweetened and diet beverages. The tax is imposed at the distributor level but any moron can tell you costs are always passed on to the consumer. The tax amounts to a $1.44 increase on a six-pack of 16-ounce bottles.

In March last year, Pepsi cited the tax when announcing 80 to 100 workers would be laid off […] → Keep reading