The Cook County sugary drinks tax was set to go into effect July 1, but a circuit court judge has temporarily blocked the implementation of the tax in response to a lawsuit opposing it.
A new tax on sugary drinks designed to generate revenue for cash-strapped Cook County will be the third burdensome tax applied to soda prices in Chicago, making a $4 12-pack of soda in the city cost $5.97.
The new statewide sugary drink tax, on top of Cook County’s similar tax and Chicago’s highest-in-the-nation sales tax, would make soda prices in the city skyrocket.
Chicago and Illinois have plenty of their own problems on the manufacturing front, with issues such as high property taxes and workers’ compensation costs driving production facilities to other states. But U.S. trade policy regarding sugar isn’t helping matters. For each one sugar growing and harvesting job saved through high U.S. sugar tariffs, nearly three confectionery manufacturing jobs are lost, according to the International Trade Administration.
Implementing a taxpayer bill of rights could prevent Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle from increasing the county’s already-high tax burden.