Coca-Cola Exec: Governments See "Soda Tax" as Easy Way to Bring in Revenue
The feud between the health conscious and the health liberal has long been a thorn in Coca-Cola’s side. One recent battlefront: lobbyists advocating for a sugar tax to be added on the sale of non-alcoholic beverages in the U.S. and abroad.
John Murphy, the company’s Asia Pacific Group president, told Cheddar that the issue affects his business, and he says doesn’t think the tax will have the desired effect.
“Many governments need revenue and they see our industry as being a very easy place to source it,” Murphy said. He points out that Coca-Cola has expanded its portfolio of healthier drinks with zero-calorie and low-calorie beverages, particularly in Japan.
Health groups have introduced soda taxes across the U.S. in hopes of reducing the consumption of sugary drinks, which contribute to obesity and other health problems. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 36.5 percent of adults in the U.S. are obese and that healthcare costs for the group are higher than for others.
Soda companies have fought against a lot of that regulation, though. A study published last year found that over a four-year span, Coca-Cola and rival PepsiCo took issue with 29 health bills aimed at soda consumption.
“These companies lobbied against public health intervention in 97 percent of cases, calling into question a sincere commitment to improving the public’s health,” the study concluded. “By accepting funding from these companies, health organizations are inadvertently participating in their marketing plans.”
The two drink giants sponsored 95 national obesity-focused health organizations, according to the same report.
An independent watchdog within the IRS reports that while taxpayer services have vastly improved, the agency is still too slow to resolve identity theft cases. And National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins says those delays are “unconscionable.” Erin M. Collins said in the report released Wednesday that overall the 2024 filing season went smoothly, though IRS delays in resolving identity theft victim assistance cases are worsening. It took nearly 19 months to resolve self-reported identity theft cases as of January, and Wednesday's report states that now it takes 22 months to resolve these cases.
Amazon.com Inc. surpassed $2 trillion in market value for the first time in afternoon trading on Wednesday. The push higher for Amazon’s stock market valuation comes a little more than a week after Nvidia hit $3 trillion and briefly became the most valuable company on Wall Street. Nvidia’s chips are used to power many AI application and its valuation has soared as a result. Amazon has also been making big investments in AI as global interest has grown in the technology. Most of the company’s focus has been on business-focused products.
Climate change doesn’t just mean more extreme weather – it also leads to billions of dollars in lost productivity, tourism, and stresses infrastructure.
It’s an annual tradition: the Fed’s banking ‘stress test.’ A year after the regional banking crisis, there are good reasons to make sure they’re prepped.
Summer is upon us, which means weddings, trips overseas, and trips to see Taylor Swift. Avoid a “Cruel Summer” with these budget-friendly tips and tricks.
While Nvidia's meteoric rise led it to briefly dethrone Microsoft as the world's biggest public company, there's a lot more going on in this market than A.I.
