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Big soda really, really wants to stop govs from taxing bevs

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It looks like free refills for the campaign to stop cities from adding taxes to soda.

Pepsi, Coca Cola and Dr. Pepper have poured another seven million dollars this week into the campaign for initiative 1634.

The anti-tax initiative would prevent local governments in Washington from following Seattle's lead and taxing sodas or other sweetened beverages.

The initiative would also block the hypothetical threat of cities taxing food.

[Related: Seattle's soda tax is hella confusing, especially if you're Clamato juice.]

Seattle started taxing soda in January to help poor families pay for healthy food.

Virtually all of the $20.2 million poured into the anti-tax measure has come from four big soda manufacturers.

There’s little organized opposition to the soda-sponsored measure.

Opponents have raised $8,850.

[Related: They say it's about food, but this initiative is really important to big soda.]



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