Sour Taste From A 'Sweet' Tax

After being rebuked by the public and the Legislature, Gov. Paterson is resurrecting his sugary drink "sin" tax proposal on the heels of Obama's support for a similar federal tax.

The proposal will fail to deliver the desired health benefits and is also bad tax policy.

While some people might quit buying these higher-taxed, sugar-filled drinks, those who do so are likely to begin consuming alternative calorie-filled products that are not taxed as highly but are just as unhealthy.

These taxes are not about better public health at all but are aimed at getting more of our hard-earned dollars into the hands of government.

The tax would pull more money out of taxpayers' hands in order to prop up a broken and bloated government budget.

Alcohol, tobacco and other targeted sin taxes haven't satisfied the appetites of big-spending politicians -- and neither will a soda tax.

John Nothdurft
Chicago, IL
The Heartland Institute

This letter to the editor was originally published in the New York Post.