TRUTH TEST: A tax on soda and juice to pay for health care reform?

KUSA - 9NEWS remains committed to holding those who run political commercials on our stations accountable for what they say.

The following Truth Test looks at a 30 second ad paid for by a group called Americans Against Food Taxes that describes itself on its Web site as a "coalition of concerned citizens - responsible individuals, financially strapped families, small and large businesses in communities across the country - opposed to the government's proposed tax hike on food and beverages, including soda, juice drinks, and flavored milks. (Source: Americans Against Food Taxes Web site: http://www.nofoodtaxes.com/about/)."

Some of the larger members of the group include major beverage distributors like Coca Cola and Pepsi. There are coalition members from Colorado in the group including: The Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry, The Colorado Beverage Association, The Colorado Restaurant Association and The Colorado Retail Council.

The ad was set to run 117 times on the networks of 9NEWS at a cost of $114,900.

QUOTE: Families around here are counting pennies to get through this economy.

TRUTH: Numerous stories have been done about the challenging economic times. Unemployment in Colorado is at 7%, two full percentage points higher than at this time last year. (Source: Denver Business Journal: http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2009/10/19/daily47.html# )

State economists have described Colorado's current economic conditions as being the worst since the Great Depression. (Source: The Denver Post: http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_12705821)

QUOTE: So when we hear about another tax, it gets our attention. Washington is talking about a new tax on juice drinks and soda.

TRUTH: No one in Washington has really discussed the issue of a tax on juice drinks and soda since the Senate Finance Committee released its health care reform measure and it did NOT include it as a means to finance the plan. (Source: New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/17/business/17soda.html)

The Finance Committee had taken testimony over the summer from public health advocates in favor of the idea in an effort to study ways to pay for comprehensive health care reform as well as improve the overall health of the nation. (Source: USA Today: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/weightloss/2009-06-14-drinktax_N.htm)

Further, a recent study released in the New England Journal of Medicine by public health officials pushed for a tax of a penny an ounce on sugary beverages, including soft drinks, energy drinks, sports beverages and many juices and iced teas. The argument was that increased prices would cut down on the consumption of sugary products and thus, reduce the 20% of American kids who are currently defined as obese. (Source: Wall Street Journal: http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2009/04/08/time-for-soda-tax-backers-want-to-cut-obesity-aid-budgets/tab/print/)

President Obama weighed in on the topic in early September when he told Men's Health magazine that taxing soda and other sugary drinks is "an idea that we should be exploring. There's no doubt that our kids drink way too much soda. And every study that's been done about obesity shows that this is as high a correlation between increased soda consumption and obesity as just about anything else." However, a White House spokesman quickly said a soda tax "is not something we've proposed." (Source: New York Daily News: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/09/08/2009-09-08_president_obama_says_sin_tax_on_sodas_is_food_for_thought.html)

The President's selection to run the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has also spoken out in favor of a soda tax in the past, but said "the challenge, I think, is a political one of getting that approved as well as there are very important administrative and operational issues with implementation of such a tax." One of Dr. Thomas Frieden's spokespeople also went further saying the concept of a soda tax was "not part of the current administration's position." (Source: ABC News: http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8594299)

As it stands, none of the five current health care reform proposals being discussed in Congress right now includes a soda or juice tax.

QUOTE: They say it's only pennies but those pennies add up when you're trying to feed a family. Washington, if you're listening, what doesn't seem like a lot to you can be a lot to us.

TRUTH: Depending on the amount of the tax, it could add up for families that consume soft drinks and juice boxes. The study in the New England Journal of Medicine suggested a tax of one penny would raise $14.9 billion in its first year. The publisher of Beverage Digest, a trade publication, told The New York Times that a two-liter bottle at 67.6 ounces that currently sells for $1.35 would go up to $2.02 if the entire tax was passed on to consumers. A 12-can case, he suggested, would see a 45% jump in cost from $3.20 to $4.64. (Source: New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/17/business/17soda.html)

QUOTE: Tell Congress no taxes on juice drinks and soda.

TRUTH: This is an opinion.