CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginians may be paying more for sugary drinks in the future if certain proposals pass state legislature. 
Gov. Jim Justice proposed a health tax to “promote better health in West Virginia.” The added tax would add1 cent per ounce on sugary drinks, which he said could create about $85 million in revenue. Justice also proposed a 50 cent tax per pack of cigarettes to generate an estimated $47.8 million.
Other representatives have introduced bills to increase the tax on sugary drinks, however.
HB 3085 and SB 385 — sponsored by Delegate Joe Ellington, R-Mercer, and Sen. Ron Stollings, D-Boone — would both raise the soft drink tax to 1 cent per ounce and rededicate the generated revenue to the three medical schools in the state.
HB 3046, sponsored by Larry Rowe, D-Kanawha, does not tax by the ounce, however. The tax would charge two-cents per bottle, which Rowe said would be farther reaching than the governor’s tax.
“As far as consumer taxes go, this one is pretty innocent,”Rowe said.
Although Rowe’s bill and Justice’s proposal seem similar at first glance, Rowe said they are two very different ideas.
Justice’s proposal is considered a health tax. Rowe said the purpose of Justice’s proposal is to discourage West Virginians from buying unhealthy drinks, but Rowe’s bill aims to raise revenue for the state’s general fund.
Rowe said the state of West Virginia began taxing sugary soft drinks in the 1950s. Currently, only one-cent per bottle goes to taxes, but Rowe’s proposal increases the tax by one-cent.
“The state generates approximately $18 to 20 million for one cent,” Rowe said.
Although a higher soft drink tax would be new to West Virginia, other localities have already adopted similar soft drink taxes. For example, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a sugary soft drink tax is currently in its early stages.
The Philadelphia tax was implemented in January, and it charges one-and-a-half-cents per ounce distributed in the locality. The tax raised $5.9 million in its first month, according to Rebecca Lopez Kriss, senior policy analyst and director of strategic outreach for the City of Philadelphia Department of Revenue.
“It will take about a year to measure exactly what effect the tax will have on city revenue, beverage prices and sales, and the consumption of different kinds of drinks,” said Thomas Farley, Philadelphia’s health commissioner. “In the meantime, all we can say from the early returns is that the Philadelphia beverage tax is working.”
Rowe said to correct the budget, the state needs to strike a balance between consumer and business taxes in the state, which is why he introduced several other bills as well.
“The state of West Virginia gave residents tax breaks when the coal industry was booming years ago,” Rowe said. “We have to think about taking back some of those reductions to solve the budget crisis. When the economy is good once again, we’ll be able to reinstate the reductions.”
Staff writer Danyel VanReenen can be reached at 304-236-8931, ext. 131, or on Twitter @DVanReenenJN.
