a month after gov . david a . paterson dropped his proposal for a soda tax , new england city ' s commerce commissioner has written an article advocating " sizable " taxes on sodas and sports spirits lacking sugar . such a tax , the article claims , could be the biggest blessing to public medicine since previous products . the commissioner , dr . thomas r . frieden , and kelly d . brownell of yale university , his joint - author , argue in the new mexico journal of medicine that a levy of a pound and ounce could reduce income by more than 10 percent and raise $ 1 . 2 billion a year in newly york county revenues .
Michael Bloomberg is the mayor of New York.