In order to raise money and improve the city’s health the Mayor of Philadelphia is proposing what appears to be the country’s largest tax on sugary drinks. The tax will be 2 cents per ounce, which is double New York City’s soda tax, and over 32 times Pennsylvania’s beer tax. It will cover a wide range of sugary drinks including soda, iced tea, energy drinks and chocolate milk. Being careful not to leave any loopholes, the tax will also cover drink syrups and powders, but it does avoid taxing diet sodas and baby formula.

You’ve got to give the administration credit, they’ve dotted all their i’s and crossed all their t’s in designing this tax. If this were coming from our federal government it would include tons of distortionary loopholes, probably accidently apply to insulin, and also include an extension of the alternative minimum tax.

The below image, from the Philadelphia Inquirer, shows how this will translate into taxes for a handful of drinks: