Associated Press
SEATTLE — Seattle has collected nearly $17 million in the first nine months of its tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, exceeding what the city initially expected the tax would raise in its first year.
Before the so-called soda tax took effect Jan. 1, officials estimated it would raise about $15 million in 2018, the Seattle Times reported.
Though researchers have yet to complete analyses of consumption patterns, tax collections have increased throughout 2018.
Finance and Administration Services department spokeswoman Julie Moore says after collecting $4.8 million in first-quarter payments and $5.9 million in second-quarter payments, Seattle collected $6.2 million in third-quarter payments and a total of $16.9 million.
The Seattle measure puts a 1.75 cent-tax per fluid ounce on the distribution of sweetened beverages such as Pepsi, sports drinks, and other drinks with exceptions for diet sodas and milk-based drinks such as lattes.
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