Your Sweet Tooth Can Cause Some Pain Thanks To Philly's New Sugary Drink Tax

In an attempted to curb unhealthy diets and raise funds for schools and recreation projects, Philadelphia's sugary drink tax is in effect as of Sunday, Jan. 1.

While the tax is levied against distributors, some customers are footing the bill when they go to pick up a sweet tea, sports drink, or soda.

The tax imposes a one and a half cent tax on each ounce of a beverage with sugar or artificial sweeteners. So if you buy a gallon of Arizona iced tea for $2.93 at Walmart in Philly, you're going to be actually paying $4.85 for that thirst quencher.

According to CBS Philadelphia, the tax is expected to rake in about $90 million annually which will help expand pre-K programs and help renovate schools, libraries, and parks.

One Manayunk business, Franzone's Pizzeria, told 6 ABC customers have been complaining about the tax already.

"The businesses take a hit with profits, the customers take a hit with payment, and it's kind of a lose-lose in Philadelphia with this tax," Mike Maziarz told the outlet.

What do you think about the sugary drink tax? Does it go too far? Do you think it's well intentioned but implemented poorly? Let us know in the comments to keep the conversation going.

Image via Rex Sorgatz, Flickr Commons