Poll says Arizona voters would support soda tax to fund education
Nov 21, 2017, 10:49 AM | Updated: 11:17 am
(Public Domain Photo)
PHOENIX — A majority of Arizona voters would support a soda tax to help fund the state’s education system, a poll released Monday said.
The poll of likely voters conducted by OH Predictive Insights showed that 59 percent of respondents would support a soft drink tax, provided it went directly to education spending.
“According to respondents, soda is the new sin,” Mike Noble, managing partner and chief pollster at OH Predictive Insights, said in a press release.
“Just like cigarettes and alcohol, people don’t mind adding taxes there for the greater good.”
About 32 percent said they would be against the tax, while another 9 percent said they were unsure or didn’t know how they would vote.
The poll said the measure was favored more by Democratic and independent voters. About two-thirds of them said they would back the tax, while about half of Republicans said they would support it.
More than 65 percent of women respondents said they would vote for the tax, compared to 51 percent of men.
Numerous cities in the United States have either tried to pass or passed a tax on sugary drinks with mixed results. Chicago’s measure was repealed last month.
Efforts to pass a similar tax overseas have been met with slightly more success.
The automated poll of 600 likely voters was conducted Nov. 9 from a sample. The demographics reflected the state’s percentages on party affiliation, geographic location and gender.
Slightly more people aged 55 or older responded to the poll because it was automated.
The poll had a margin of error of 4 percent.