Big Soda seems to have decided that the best way to fend off taxes on sugary beverages is through state ballot initiatives. In Washington and Oregon, voters are deciding on whether or not to prevent local governments from taxing soda though, in both cases, the propositions are billed as banning local taxes on “groceries.”
Earlier this year, the soda industry funded a proposition in California that lawmakers described as holding them “hostage.” That proposition would have made it very difficult for cities to raise taxes of any kind. The industry ultimately agreed to drop the initiative in exchange for a 12-year moratorium on local taxes on sugary beverages.