Court upholds Philadelphia’s right to tack on soda tax

Philadelphia, the nation’s largest city with a soda tax, has the right to charge its 1.5-cents-per-ounce levy on sweetened beverages, the state Supreme Court ruled in a bitter defeat for retailers and distributors.

Seattle began collecting a similar tax in January – weeks after Chicago’s Cook County shelved one amid widespread dissent. Last month, California passed a law allowing a soda tax in San Francisco to remain in place but banning cities from passing new ones.