Seattle, Washington is the latest city to consider a tax on sugary beverages. In his February 21 State of the City address, Mayor Ed Murray proposed a tax of 2 cents per ounce on the distribution of sugary drinks (i.e., energy drinks, juice, soda, and sweetened teas). If approved, the tax could generate as much as $16 million annually, which would go towards improving education in the city.

Specifically, the funds would be earmarked for the Education Action Agenda, which has a mission to “eliminate the opportunity gap between white students and African American/Black students and other historically underrepresented students of color.” The city would use the revenue to expand Birth-to-Five programs as well as before and after school programs, support educator workforce diversity, reduce disproportionality in discipline, and more.

Mayor Murray emphasized the amount of revenue a soda tax could generate, as the city desperately needs more money for education. That’s true for the state of Washington, too. Education has been underfunded in the state for decades, meaning that “Washington is failing to meet its constitutional obligations for fully funding K-12 basic education.” Governor Jay Inslee (D) hasn’t called for a statewide tax on sugary beverages, but his proposed budget for 2017–19 includes repealing the sales and use tax exemption for bottle water.

The proposed Seattle soda tax is about money. But it’s also about health. The mayor pointed out that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds soda taxes to be “the single most effective remedy to reverse the obesity epidemic” because they help decrease consumption. The health benefits of taxing sugary beverages have been part of tax debates in other parts of the country as well.