Soda Taxes.

• Author: Van Doren, Peter
• Position: Working Papers - The Impact of Soda Taxes: Pass-Through, Tax Avoidance, and Nutritional Effects - Book review

"The Impact of Soda Taxes: Pass-Through, Tax Avoidance, and Nutritional Effects," by Stephan Seller, Anna Tuchman, and Song Yao. January 2019. SSRN #3302335.

Taxes on high-calorie beverages, i.e., "soda taxes," have become a popular policy response to the obesity epidemic. Mexico implemented a nationwide soda tax in 2014. Estimates of its effects have used standard elasticity estimates that a 1% increase in soda price results in a 1-3% decrease in consumption. In a previous Working Papers column ("Soda Taxes," Winter 2017-2018) I discussed research that lowered those estimates by considering the purchase of cheaper soda (switching brands) as a taxpayer response.

In the United States, beverage taxes have been enacted by localities rather than nationwide. A response to such a tax could be shopping outside the jurisdiction and avoiding the tax. On...