EDS. NOTE: Please note this story has been corrected. Mayor Michael Bloomberg did not propose a soda tax as was originally reported.
By Nina Mandell
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Now might be a good time to stock up on your favorite sugary sodas.
Seventy-six percent of New York City voters are in favor of a tax on sugary drinks to help balance the city budget, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released on Thursday.
A report by the city’s Independent Budget Office said New York City could raise $222 million by a half-cent per-ounce tax on soft drinks.
The tax was one of several revenue generating proposals Governor David Paterson outlined in his state budget proposal.
The city's resident health czar — Mayor Michael Bloomberg — criticized several aspects of the governor's budget, saying it put an unfair burden on New York City, but was supportive of his plan to tax sugary drinks and cigarettes.
"[T]he new revenue initiatives in the budget are themselves far-sighted," Bloomberg said in a statement about the governor's budget proposal. "That includes, for example, the proposed penny per ounce tax on sugared beverages."
Big Apple residents strongly support the health initiatives the Bloomberg administration has taken.
"There's been some grumbling about 'nanny government' by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, but voters are eating it up,” Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said in a press release. “Only a few think Mayor Mike is meddling.”
A majority of New Yorkers — 77 percent — said the Bloomberg administration is correct to encourage restaurants to use less salt and 79 percent said they think the government’s meddling in food issues is helpful.
