Soda Companies Donate Another $7.2 Million to Anti-Tax Campaign

Soda companies are spending over $20 million trying to stop soda taxes. Getty Images

Four soda companies dumped another $7.2 million into their anti-soda tax campaign last week, bringing their total investment in the campaign to over $20.2 million.

The corporations made their latest donations last Thursday, after their campaign for I-1634 was dealt a series of major blows. Six of Washington's major newspapers, including the only one that matters, came out in opposition to the initiative.

A new statewide poll released by Crosscut/Elway on Monday, after the soda companies already made their latest donations, showed that only 31 percent of voters supported the initiative, with 51 percent against and 18 percent of voters still undecided.

The soda companies are trying to prevent other Washington cities from copying Seattle and instituting a soda tax. I-1634 would make it illegal for any local government to raise taxes on sweetened beverages. It would not have any effect on Seattle's tax, which is 1.75 cents per ounce of soda or other sugary beverages.

The campaign for I-1634 is almost entirely backed by four international soda companies: PepsiCo Inc., the Coca-Cola Company, Keurig Dr Pepper, and Red Bull North America. Those five corporations have donated $20,210,266.31 to the campaign. The only other donations to the campaign have come from the Washington Food Industry Association and the Washington Hospitality Association, which donated just over $20,000.

The opposition campaign has raised only $8,650.

The soda companies are attempting to frame their campaign as trying to prevent the government from raising grocery costs for poor people, but as we wrote in our endorsement issue, their real interest is keeping people drinking as much soda as possible. The Stranger Election Control Board said it best here:

One fact you won't find in Big Sugar's lying ads? Seattle's soda tax is working. So is Berkeley's. So is Philly's. People are drinking less regular soda, which is good for their health. Cities are taking in more money for education, which is good for people's brains. If other cities in Washington want to join the club, then let them make that decision themselves. Vote NO on I-1634. Support The Stranger More than ever, we depend on your support to help fund our coverage. Support local, independent media with a one-time or recurring donation. Thank you!

Don't trust us? Listen to Danny Westneat at the Times, who summarized the campaign with this apt headline: "Vote for this initiative and you may as well bow down to your corporate overlords."

Westneat argues that the soda companies are engaging in "one of the more misleading ad campaigns I can remember" because the soda companies are framing their campaign as a ban on grocery taxes, without mentioning that there are currently no taxes on meat or vegetables. And state law also makes it difficult for local governments to put a sales tax on your broccoli. Soda, on the other hand, is fair game, which is why these billion dollar corporations are shaking.

This initiative appears to be a sinking ship. Now its corporate backers are making sure it's a sinking multi-million-dollar yacht instead of just a drowning dinghy.