Opponents of Philadelphia’s 1.5-cent-an-ounce tax on sugary beverages, who lost last year in Common Pleas court, asked the Commonwealth Court to overturn the levy as a form of double taxation, said the Associated Press. In arguments before a seven-judge panel, attorney Chip Becker said the state already imposes a sales tax on soda so the city is barred by law from taxing it too.
Philadelphia says the levy is a distribution tax, not a sales taxes, so it’s legal. A 1932 state law gave Philadelphia its own taxing authority but bars it from taxing anything that is covered by a state tax. Becker asked the judges to reverse the Common Pleas decision and order the court to void the tax.
The soda tax is expected to raise $90 million a year, which Mayor Jim Kenney has earmarked for pre-kindergarten, schools and recreation centers. Philadelphia was the first big city to adopt a soda tax. Berkeley, Calif., was the first city with a soda tax, approved by votes in 2014.