New wave of cities passing measures to tax soda sting Coca-Cola, PepsiCo

Coca-Cola and PepsiCo face a wave of new soda taxes after four U.S. cities voted to pass the measures, part of an escalating war on sugary drinks.

Proposals to slap a 1-cent-per-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages are poised to pass in the California cities of San Francisco, Oakland and Albany. In Boulder, Colo., meanwhile, a 2-cents-per-ounce tax is leading. Cook County, which includes Chicago, also has a similar penny-per-ounce tax written into its proposed 2017 budget.

The levies bring fresh headaches to soda companies already coping with a shift in consumer tastes away from their core products. Per capita soda consumption in the U.S. fell to a 30-year low in 2015, according to data compiled by Beverage Digest, a trade publication. But Coca-Cola and PepsiCo both announced plans to deal with their sugar problems last month, including a move toward smaller beverage sizes.

The new taxes underscore the need to take more dramatic action, according to Ali Dibadj, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.

“It clearly accelerates it,” he said Tuesday. “Soda taxes just add to the impetus for them to be mindful of price mix as an element of growth and innovations and other things,” rather than just focusing on increasing volumes.

The American Beverage Association, an industry trade group, said on Wednesday that it respected the decision of voters.

“Our energy remains squarely focused on reducing the sugar consumed from beverages — engaging with prominent public health and community organizations to change behavior,” the association said in a statement.

Prior to the votes Tuesday, Philadelphia and Berkeley, Calif., were the only U.S. cities to have similar measures on the books. Philadelphia became the first major city to pass such a tax in June after proponents changed tactics to focus on badly needed funding rather than health benefits.

Since 2009, there have been more than 40 attempts to enact a soda tax in cities across the U.S.