ALBANY — Gulp! That’s a lot of tax to swallow!
The controversial “fat tax” Gov. Paterson hopes to resurrect in budget talks this week could hike the price of powdered drink mixes such as Kool-Aid, Gatorade and iced tea by nearly double, The Post has learned.
The costly tax has so far gone little noticed amid the uproar over the proposed $1 billion-a-year tax on sugared drinks. State Health Commissioner Richard Daines continues to push the levy a remedy for childhood obesity despite unified opposition from legislative leaders.
The heavy hit on powdered drinks stems from the Paterson administration’s plans to apply its “penny per ounce” levy on the total quantity of beverage produced by added sweeteners.
If the tax were approved, consumers could expect the price of a 2-liter bottle of soda to rise about 67 cents.
However, the cost of a typical canister of powdered lemonade, which can produce as much as three gallons of summer refreshment for a thrifty $4.19, would jump by $3.84.
The estimated shelf price of $8.03 would be 48 percent tax — a rate to rival tobacco products — even though some drink-mix brands advertise substantially less sugar than soda.
The potential price spike illustrates how the “regressive” tax would hit the poor hardest, said Assemblyman Michael Benjamin (D-Bronx), a soda-tax foe.
“People who are poor or working class tend to drink the powdered stuff because it goes a lot further than bottled or can drinks,” Benjamin said.
The disparity was recently highlighted in the beverage industry’s multimillion-dollar TV ad campaign against the tax proposal.
State Budget Division spokesman Matt Anderson argued the proposed tax structure ensures equity.
“A relatively small amount of powder can produce a very large quantity of these unhealthy, high-calorie sugared beverages,” Anderson said.