Exclusive | Liberal California city looks to double nanny-state soda tax as shocking spending emerges

Berkeley, the first U.S.city to introduce a tax on soda and sugary drinks more than a decade ago, wants to double the rate as claims emerge about how the money collected is being spent.

Voters are now being asked to double the 2014 tax – which to one cent per fluid ounce, or 12 cents for a can of Coke – despite questions being raised about how the tax money is spent and monitored.The decision to increase the tax comes as businesses rage saying they’re already struggling as basic city services go unmet and homeless encampments fester.There’s a twisted anti-American irony in doubling a tax on a beverage in a country born out of rebellion against taxation.In 1773, furious colonists dumped British tea into Boston Harbor in defiance of taxation without representation, helping ignite the American Revolution.A financial review by the California Post identified serious financial irregularities involving the Berkeley soda tax’s top recipient, Health Black Families, a nonprofit that has been awarded more than $2.2 million in taxpayer money since the tax went into effect.  The biggest news, opinion and culture shaping California right now.

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Never miss a story The organization provides a number of community services targeting the African American community, including a program called “Thirsty for Change!” as well as cooking seminars and tours of farmer’s markets.But in filings with the IRS, Healthy Black Families’ accounting records contain conflicting compensation figures, massive expenses that don’t add up, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in unexplained legal fees, raising questions about how carefully Berkeley officials are tracking the money it doles out.Gary Krausz, a partner at accounting firm Gursey Schneider LLP who reviewed the IRS records for The Post, said that Healthy Black Families’ re...