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Philadelphia set to OK soda tax despite major industry opposition

Philadelphia set to OK soda tax despite major industry opposition
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PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia is set to become the first major American city with a soda tax despite a multimillion-dollar campaign by the beverage industry to block it.
 
The City Council is expected to give final approval Thursday to a 1.5 cent-per-ounce tax on sugary and diet beverages.
 
Berkeley, California, is the only other city with such a tax. Other proposals have been defeated in more than 30 cities and states.
 
Two previous efforts to pass a soda tax in Philadelphia also failed.
 
But Democratic Mayor Jim Kenney sold the council on the idea with a plan to spend most of the estimated $90 million in new tax revenues next year to pay for pre-kindergarten, community schools and recreation centers.
 
The soda industry is expected to sue if the tax is approved.