Massachusetts is considering a statewide tax on sugary drinks. We’ve covered these taxes in Philadelphia and Seattle. They’ve been a boon to jobs and businesses outside their borders. We’ve no reason to think the same won’t be true for New Hampshire if the Bay State buys in on it too.
It’s human nature. New Hampshire will Benefit. But will the bill pass?
Massachusetts had a similar tax in the legislative pipeline in 2017. I’m not sure why that failed but they are back. You can’t pay for all that spending without more taxes. If that means blaming something for something else then so be it. And sugary drinks are still waiting for their due.
Sen. Jason Lewis, Rep. Kay Khan and Rep. Jon Santiago have filed bills that would impose an excise tax on sugary drinks, with the tax increasing along with the sugar content.
Under the bills (S 1709, H 2529), beverages with 7.5 grams of sugar or less per 12 fluid ounces would not be taxed, and those with 30 grams of sugar or more per 12 fluid ounces would be taxed at a rate of 2 cents per ounce. Drinks that fall in between those two sugar levels would be taxed 1 cent per ounce.
The tax is “based around the same idea of how we tax tobacco,” Perron said, and would generate somewhere between $280 million and $320 million a year in revenue.
At least one Massachusetts Rep. thinks it’s a bad idea.
[Rep Brad] Hill is against the tax for local communities because he believes it will hurt more than it will help. Hill said where he lives, the town is filled with small businesses and close to the New Hampshire state line and he believes the additional tax will cripple those businesses and locals will drive over the border to escape the tax.
Massachusetts is looking at jacking up its tobacco taxes as well.
In his budget, Gov. Charlie Baker recommended extending the tobacco tax to vaping products and e-cigarettes. Hill has seen the effects of tobacco tax for years in his community and thinks this additional tax will simply drive more people to go over the state line in order to not pay taxes on their purchases in New Hampshire.
More good news for New Hampshire if it passes and our own greedy Democrats don’t screw it up. Cross-border commerce has other beneficial side-effects including sales of other things. The rise in volume creates jobs and drives up wages thanks to government interference (in Massachusetts).
Like I said, if our own greedy Democrats don’t screw it up.
