The goal is to help close the city's current budget shortfall, which could top to $100-million by June.
"There's a question of how we raise revenues; I think that would be a harmless way of doing it. We don't want to raise property taxes, we don't want to raise other taxes," City Council President Anna Verna said.
Proponents say this could serve the war on obesity well, but what about the complicated task of collecting this tax?
"I am actually being told that Diet Coke or Pepsi actually has sugar in it, so do you impose that tax on diet soda? I'm not sure the people would feel comfortable with that. What do you do with fountain sodas?" Darrell Clarke of City Council said.
Action News visited family-owned Express Deli in Center City and there was plenty of reaction about this idea.
"Right now we sell a 20-ounce soda for $1.50, so a penny an ounce would bring it to a $1.70," Leslie Kelly of the Express Deli said.
"That's a lot for a soda; it's a surefire way to stop drinking sodas…that's too much, people can't afford it," Anita Cheeves of the Express Deli said.
Some soda devotees are trying to take this new sin tax proposal in stride.
"A penny an ounce, that seems a little more extreme, but another 20 cents probably won't change what I do; we are in a difficult time right now," Churchill Houston of Society Hill said.
"I think 20-cents tax on a bottle of soda is excessive…I'd probably bring it in from home [to work]," Maurice Hamel of Springfield said.
This new tax plan is not likely to fizzle out quickly; other cities are already taxing sugar-sweetened drinks, including Chicago.
