Today the Seattle City Auditor published a final set of studies on the Sweetened Beverage Tax, looking at outcomes 24 months after the tax was first imposed.
According to one report, nearly all of the tax was passed through to consumers — though less so at locations near the border of the city where cross-border competitors not subject to the tax could undercut their prices.
A key finding of another report is that when compared to other locations with similar demographics but no soda tax, Seattle saw no decrease in sugary beverage consumption by children.
Two studies looked at changes in BMI since the soda tax was enacted; they found a very small decrease (again compared to other similar locations), though the researchers acknowledge that the data collected has several issues that limits their ability to draw strong conclusions from it.
