CHRIS ENLOE | BlazeMedia

Lawmakers in the nation’s capital are proposing enacting a new tax on sugary drinks, hoping that forcing consumers to pay more for products they want will deter them from consuming sugary beverages.

What are the details?

Democrat Brianne Nadeau, a member of the Washington, D.C., city council, introduced a measure Tuesday that would enact an excise tax of 1.5 cents per ounce on beverages the city government considers “sugary drinks.”

The legislation would repeal an existing 8% sales tax on sugary drinks, which is 2% higher than the existing sales tax in Washington.

Enacting the sugary drink tax would “begin rectifying longstanding health inequities made even more apparent by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“One thing that COVID-19 has made abundantly clear is that we need to get serious about addressing health inequities in the District,” Nadeau said in a press release.

Mary Cheh, a council member who sponsored the bill, told WTOP-TV, “This excise tax would go right on the product. Thereby making it apparent to the purchaser that it is more expensive than it was.”