“Because these taxes are designed to take the revenues and put them back into programs that help lower-income communities, the net benefits are actually positive.”
by the University of Washington found that sweetened beverage taxes, like soda, produce benefits for low-income families.
“Because these taxes are designed to take the revenues and put them back into programs that help lower-income communities, the sort of net benefits are actually positive,” Knox said on Seattle’s Morning News on KIRO NewsRadio. “So even though lower-income households are paying into the tax, they’re receiving more than what they pay in terms of benefits back.”Knox is an associate economics professor at UW as well as co-authoring this study.
In 2018, Seattle gathered more than $22 million in sweetened beverage tax revenue, $7 million more than initially projected. This money helped fund the 13th Year Promise Scholarships, job training programs, initiatives designed to help close the food security gap, and aid programs for at-risk children.