Methodology:
24/7 wall street based these four 15% sin taxes on existing sin taxes, both proposed (the 12 cents/can NY soda tax) and in practice (liquor and tobacco taxes, which come to between 10 and 20 cents on the dollar per item. We calculated the estimated taxes accrued per company by comparing SEC earnings data and by surveying nutritional information of the major products of each company. We th
en multiplied the estimated percentage of the total domestic sales of the company with the actual figure, and then factored in the 15% tax for each ingredient. See the tables below for estimated values and figures.
-Michael B. Sauter
Tables:
YUM! Brands
| Ingredient | % Total Sales With Ingredient | Taxable Revenue Per Ingredient | Amount Taxed (taxable rev. ÷ 15% tax) |
| Trans Fat | 30% | $1.11 b | $166 m |
| Sodium | 50% | $1.85 b | $277 m |
| Sugar | 5% | $185 m | $27 m |
| Saturated Fats | 30% | $1.11 b | $166 m |
| Domestic Revenue* | $3.7 billion | Total Taxed | $636 m |
* based on 2009 SEC earnings data
MCD
| Ingredient | % Total Sales With Ingredient | Taxable Revenue Per Ingredient | Amount Taxed (taxable rev. ÷ 15% tax) |
| Trans Fat | 30% | $1.26 b | $189 m |
| Sodium | 70% | $2.94 b | $441 m |
| Sugar | 10% | $42 m | $63 m |
| Saturated Fats | 75% | $3.15 b | $472 m |
| Domestic Revenue* | $4.2 billion | Total | $1.17 b |
*based on 2009 SEC earnings data
WEN
| Ingredient | % Total Sales With Ingredient | Taxable Revenue Per Ingredient | Amount Taxes (taxable rev. ÷ 15% tax) |
| Trans Fat | 20% | $640 m | $96 m |
| Sodium | 30% | $960 m | $144 m |
| Sugar | 10% | $320 m | $48 m |
| Saturated Fats | 30% | $960 m | $144 m |
| Domestic Revenue* | $3.2 billion | Total | $432 m |
*based on 2009 SEC earnings data
CPB
| Ingredient | % Total Sales With Ingredient | Taxable Revenue Per Ingredient | Amount Taxed (taxable rev. ÷ 15% tax) |
| Trans Fat | 5% | $275 m | $41 m |
| Sodium | 80% | $4.4 b | $660 m |
| Sugar | 5% | $275 m | $41 m |
| Saturated Fats | 15% | $825 m | $124 m |
| Domestic Revenue* | $5.5 billion | Total | $866 m |
*based on 2009 SEC earnings data
BKC
| Ingredient | % Total Sales With Ingredient | Taxable Revenue Per Ingredient | Amount Taxed (taxable rev. ÷ 15% tax) |
| Trans Fat | 20% | $260 m | $39 m |
| Sodium | 60% | $780 m | $117 m |
| Sugar | 10% | $130 m | $19 m |
| Saturated Fats | 40% | $520 m | $78 m |
| Domestic Revenue* | $1.3 billion | Total | $253 m |
*based on 2009 SEC earnings data
K+S
| Ingredient | % Total Sales With Ingredient | Taxable Revenue Per Ingredient | Amount Taxed (taxable rev. ÷ 15% tax) |
| Trans Fat | 0% | 0 | 0 |
| Sodium | 100% | $1 b | $150 m |
| Sugar | 0% | 0 | 0 |
| Saturated Fats | 0% | 0 | 0 |
| Domestic Revenue | $1 billion* | Total | $150m |
*estimate of K+S U.S. revenue in edible salt – based on a conservative percentage of annual revenue.
ADM
| Ingredient | % Total Sales With ingredient | Taxable Revenue Per Ingredient | Amount Taxed (taxable rev. ÷ 15% tax) |
| Trans Fat | 0% | 0 | 0 |
| Sodium | 0% | 0 | 0 |
| Sugar | 100% | $3.5 b | $525 m |
| Saturated Fats | 0% | 0 | 0 |
| ’09 Domestic Revenue | $3.5 billion* | Total | $525 m |
*2009 ADM corn-based sweetener sales, U.S.
KO
| Ingredient | % Total Sales With Ingredient | Taxable Revenue Per Ingredient | Amount Taxed (taxable rev. ÷ 15% tax) |
| Trans Fat | 0% | 0 | 0 |
| Sodium | 0% | 0 | 0 |
| Sugar | 95% | $5.7 b | $855 m |
| Saturated Fats | 0% | 0 | 0 |
| Domestic Revenue* | $6 billion | Total | $855 m |
*based on 2009 SEC earnings data
PEP
| Ingredient | % Total Sales With Ingredient | Taxable Revenue Per Ingredient | Amount Taxed (taxable rev. ÷ 15% tax) |
| Trans Fat | 5% | $1.01 b | $151 m |
| Sodium | 60% | $12.2 b | $1.83 |
| Sugar | 75% | $15.15 b | $2.27 b |
| Saturated Fats | 40% | $8.08 b | $1.21 b |
| Domestic Revenue* | $ 20.2 | Total | $5.461 b |
*based on 2009 SEC earnings data
KFT
| Ingredient | % Total Sales With Ingredient | Taxable Revenue Per Ingredient | Amount Taxed (taxable rev. ÷ 15% tax) |
| Trans Fat | 5% | $1 b | $150 m |
| Sodium | 50% | $10 b | $1.5 b |
| Sugar | 30% | $6 b | $900 m |
| Saturated Fats | 35% | $7 b | $1.05 b |
| Domestic Revenue | $20 billion* | Total | $3.6 b |
*KFT Domestic revenue in 2009, U.S. Snacks, Cheese, Convenient Meals, and Groceries
TSN
| Ingredient | % Total Sales With Ingredient | Taxable Revenue Per Ingredient | Amount Taxed (taxable rev. ÷ 15% tax) |
| Trans Fat | 10% | $1.3 b | $195 m |
| Sodium | 40% | $5.2 b | $780 b |
| Sugar | 0% | 0 | 0 |
| Saturated Fats | 40% | $5.2 b | $780 m |
| Domestic Revenue* | $13 billion | Total | $1.76 b |
*based on 2009 SEC earnings data
SLE
| Ingredient | % Total Sales With Ingredient | Taxable Revenue Per Ingredient | Amount Taxed (taxable rev. ÷ 15% tax) |
| Trans Fat | 40% | $2 b | $300 m |
| Sodium | 50% | $2.5 b | $375 m |
| Sugar | 80% | $4 b | $600 m |
| Saturated Fats | 75% | $3.75 b | $562 b |
| Domestic Revenue* | $5 billion | Total | $1.84 b |
*based on 2009 SEC earnings data
Total Annual sin tax for 12 companies: $17.54 billion
Assuming 12 companies represent ¼ of total tax revenue: $17.54 x 4 = $70.16 billion
-Michael B. Sauter
