Claim: A three-cents-per-ounce soda tax in Philadelphia "would result in the loss of 2,000 family-sustaining Teamster Union jobs and countless other jobs in the beverage industry.
Verdict: REFUTES

Retrieved passages:
title: Sugary drink tax
text: drink has seen a decline in soda consumption by more than 20 percent. Philadelphia's tax of 1.5 cents/oz took effect on January 1, 2017. The Measure D soda tax was approved by 76% of Berkeley voters on 4 November 2014, and took effect on 1 January 2015 as the first such tax in the United States. The measure imposes a tax of one cent per ounce on the distributors of specified sugar-sweetened beverages such as soda, sports drinks, energy drinks, and sweetened ice teas but excluding milk-based beverages, meal replacement drink, diet sodas, fruit juice, and alcohol. The revenue generated

title: Jim Kenney
text: The trade organization, funded by soda companies and distributors, ran local television, radio, and newspaper advertisements against the idea, claiming that the tax would disproportionately hurt the poor. The American Heart Association, on the other hand, has supported Kenney's efforts. On June 16, 2016, the soda tax passed with a 13–4 vote from City Council. The initial proposal of three cents per ounce was lowered to 1.5 cents per ounce. The tax was implemented at the start of the 2017 calendar year. After the tax took effect, Kenney said retailors' price gouging blamed on the tax and charging the tax

title: Sugary drink tax
text: poor. His opponent, Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, said that she was "very supportive" of the idea. The American Beverage Association (ABA), funded by soda companies and distributors, ran local television, radio, and newspaper advertisements against the idea, claiming that the tax would disproportionately hurt the poor. The ABA spent $10.6 million in 2016 in its effort against the tax. The American Medical Association, American Heart Association, and other medical and public health groups support the tax. The Philadelphia City Council approved a 1.5-cents-per-ounce tax on 16 June 2016. As part of the compromise legislation that passed, the tax

title: Sugary drink tax
text: is also imposed on artificially sweetened beverages, such as diet soda. The law became effective on 1 January 2017. It was reported after two months of the tax that Philadelphia supermarkets and beverage distributors are planning layoffs because sugary beverage sales are down between 30 and 50 percent. After the tax took effect, Kenney said it was "wrong" and "misleading" for businesses to pass the tax on to their customers in the form of higher soda prices. In February 2017, soda manufacturers and retailers announced sales declines of 30-50% in Philadelphia and announced job cuts and layoffs. Kenny characterized the

title: Sugary drink tax
text: a sugary drink tax alone. In March 2017, Pepsi laid off between 80 and 100 employees at two distribution plants in Philadelphia and one plant in nearby Wilmington, Delaware. The company blamed the layoffs on the tax, an assertion rejected by the city government. In September 2016, the American Beverage Association, Philadelphia business owners, and other plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against the soda tax, alleging that the tax violated the "Tax Uniformity Clause" of the state constitution. The legal challenge was dismissed by the Court of Common Pleas in December 2016, and in June 2017 the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania

title: Sugary drink tax
text: (in a 5-2 decision) affirmed that ruling. The ABA is appealing the decision to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. A one-cent-per-ounce soda tax (Prop V) passed with over 61% of the vote on 8 November 2016 and applies to distributors of sugary beverages on 1 January 2018. Exemptions for the tax include infant formulas, milk products, supplements, drinks used for medical reasons, and 100% fruit and vegetable juices. The soda industry spent almost $20 million in its unsuccessful push to defeat the soda tax initiative, a record-breaking amount for a San Francisco ballot initiative. In 2014, the first referendum on a

title: Jim Kenney
text: on items not subject to it was "wrong" and "misleading". In February 2017, soda manufacturers and retailers announced sales declines of 30–50% in Philadelphia and announced layoffs for March. The city called the predicted layoffs "fear-mongering". While the tax was projected to raise about $2.7 million in its first month, far below the estimate of $7.6 million per month, the city expected that figure to rise. In March 2017, Pepsi announced plans to lay off between 80 and 100 employees, and blamed this on the tax. The city stated the program had created 251 jobs, mostly full-time pre-K teaching positions

title: Jim Kenney
text: and said the soda industry was "holding hostage the jobs of hard-working people in their battle to overturn the tax. Pepsi reported nearly $35 billion in gross income and $6 billion in profit last year... The idea that they can afford to do that but 'must lay off workers' should make every Philadelphian very skeptical of whether these layoffs are actually due to the tax." The layoffs would occur at plants in Philadelphia and Wilmington which are run as independent businesses. In October 2017, Mayor Kenney announce that the city is taking back control of its public schools after sixteen

title: Sugary drink tax
text: layoffs as evidence of greed among manufacturers. In the first four months of the soda tax $25.6 million was collected, which is lower than predicted. The revenue is intended to pay for a pre-K program (49% of tax revenue), government employee benefits and city programs (20%), and rebuilding city parks and recreation centers. A recent study from 2017 found that Philadelphia's tax has decreased sugary beverage consumption in impoverished youth by 1.3 drinks/week. Langellier et al. also found that when paired with the pre-K program, attendance increases significantly, a finding that is likely to have longer term positive effects than

title: Sugary drink tax
text: found that New Yorkers opposed a state tax on soda of one penny per ounce by a 35-point margin, but opposition dropped to a margin of one point when respondents were told the money would go towards health care. A Thompson Reuters poll released in the same month found that 51 percent of Americans opposed a soda tax, while 33 percent supported one. Fighting the creation of soft drink taxes, the American Beverage Association, the largest U.S. trade organization for soft drink bottlers, has spent considerable money lobbying Congress. The Association's annual lobbying spending rose from about $391,000 to more

title: Sugary drink tax
text: soda tax, Proposition E, was voted down by San Francisco; the 2014 referendum received the support of 55 percent of voters, short of the two-thirds required for a referendum directing money to a specific item (the referendum proposed directing the revenue raised to children's physical education and nutrition programs, and in San Francisco such earmarking requires a two-thirds vote to pass). In that referendum campaign, the soda industry spent about $10 million in opposition to the proposed tax. A one-cent-per-ounce soda tax (Measure HH) passed with over 60% of the vote on 8 November 2016. The tax went into effect

title: Sugary drink tax
text: Kenney proposed a citywide soda tax that would raise the price of soda at three cents per ounce. At the time, it was the biggest soda tax proposal in the United States. Kenney promoted using tax revenue to fund universal pre-K, jobs, and development projects, which he predicted would raise $400 million over five years, all the while reducing sugar intake by decreasing the demand for sugary beverages. Kenney's soda tax proposal was brought to the national spotlight and divided key members of the Democratic Party. Presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders argued in an op-ed that the tax would hurt the

title: Soda Tax (Parks and Recreation)
text: mirror. The episode refers to the proposed limit on the sale of soft drinks in venues, restaurants and sidewalk carts to 16 ounces, a plan put forward by Michael Bloomberg, then Mayor of New York City. Soda Tax (Parks and Recreation) "Soda Tax" is the second episode of the fifth season of the American comedy television series "Parks and Recreation", and the 70th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on September 27, 2012. In the episode, Leslie (Amy Poehler) faces obstacles while trying to pass a soda tax, while Andy (Chris Pratt)

title: Jim Kenney
text: including Anthony H. Williams and former District Attorney Lynn Abraham. Republican Melissa Murray Bailey, a business executive, ran unopposed for the Republican nomination. Kenney won a whopping 85.1% of the vote. Kenney was inaugurated as the 99th Mayor of Philadelphia on January 4, 2016. Kenney proposed a citywide soda tax that would raise the price of soda at three cents per ounce, originally with the intent to raise money for universal pre-k. At the time, it was the biggest soda tax proposal in the United States. Kenney promoted using tax revenue to fund universal pre-K, jobs, and development projects, which

title: Sugary drink tax
text: on 1 July 2017. A one-cent-per-ounce soda tax (Prop O1) passed with over 70% of the vote on 8 November 2016. The tax went into effect on April 1, 2017 A two-cents-per-ounce soda tax (Measure 2H) passed with 54% of the vote on 8 November 2016. The tax took effect on July 1, 2017, and revenue will be spent on health promotion, general wellness programs and chronic disease prevention that improve health equity, and other health programs especially for residents with low income and those most affected by chronic disease linked to sugary drink consumption. The tax is exempted at

title: Jim Kenney
text: he expected would raise $400 million over five years, all the while reducing sugar intake by decreasing the demand for sugary beverages Kenney's soda tax proposal was brought to the national spotlight and divided key members of the Democratic Party. The idea of a soda tax quickly became a national issue. Candidates in the 2016 United States presidential election gave their take. Senator Bernie Sanders said that the tax would hurt the poor. Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, said that she was "very supportive" of the idea. The lobbying organization American Beverage Association took a stand against Kenney's proposal.

title: Ed Rendell
text: minority- and women- owned business participation rate. Rendell proposed that the 8 cents per gallon tax on beer be raised to 25 cents per gallon. Brewery D.G. Yuengling & Son spokesman, David Casinelli, was a critic of the tax. Casinelli expressed his view on the tax increase proposal by saying, "it seems like every time the state needs money, they come to alcohol or tobacco, and, frankly, it's not fair." In 2004, Rendell persuaded the Pennsylvania General Assembly to pass measures to legalize and tax slot machine parlors, with the revenues from these measures to be used to reduce property

title: Sugary drink tax
text: the University of Colorado, Boulder, campus as school officials survey what types of drinks students wish to have. The University was not aware it would be involved in the soda tax, and would have to pay as much as $1 million a year to purchase it. A one-cent-per-ounce soda tax passed on November 10, 2016, by a 9-8 vote, with Cook County Board of Commissioners President Toni Preckwinkle breaking the 8-8 tie. Cook County includes Chicago and has a population of nearly 5.2 million. This was the most populous jurisdiction with a soda tax in the U.S. The campaign to

title: Sugary drink tax
text: October 10, 2017, the Board of Commissioners voted to repeal the tax in a 15-1 vote. The tax stayed in effect up until December 1. The tax was highly unpopular and seen mainly as an attempt to plug the county’s $1.8 billion budget deficit, rather than a public health measure. The Coalition for Healthy Kids and Education is currently campaigning to get a soda tax on the May 2018 ballot. Their aim is to implement a 1.15 cents per ounce tax on sugary drinks. There are 18,000 signatures required by December 15, 2017 in order for the tax to be

title: Soda Tax (Parks and Recreation)
text: Soda Tax (Parks and Recreation) "Soda Tax" is the second episode of the fifth season of the American comedy television series "Parks and Recreation", and the 70th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on September 27, 2012. In the episode, Leslie (Amy Poehler) faces obstacles while trying to pass a soda tax, while Andy (Chris Pratt) trains for his upcoming police physical examination. In Washington, D.C., Ben (Adam Scott) tries to connect with his interns. Leslie (Amy Poehler) has proposed a soda tax on restaurants in an effort to curb Pawnee's obesity