The Evolution of the Modern Snack Tax Bill: From World War I to the War Against Obesity

Abstract

This paper offers a historical perspective on soft drinks and snack taxes in the United States in light of recent legislative snack tax proposals that have been introduced in at least twenty states since an obesity crisis was declared in 2002. Selective taxes on soft drinks and candy can be traced to the War Revenue Acts during World War I and have frequently appeared, disappeared, and resurfaced at the state level during the past eighty-five years. This paper surveys the history and various forms of snack taxation in the states prior to the recent obesity epidemic, and the reasons that underlay these earlier taxes. More importantly, it examines the current resurrection of the snack tax as an obesity-related measure and analyzes its strengths and weaknesses as a tax and health policy. Finally, it offers preliminary suggestions to enhance the potential of current snack tax proposals to overcome challenges that had caused many of their predecessors to be short-lived.