The debate over one of Governor Paterson's proposed tax hikes heats up. The administration says one way to boost much-needed revenue in a time when New York is facing a deficit of about $9 billion is an added fee on soda and other sugary beverages. But the idea of raising taxes on soft drinks is anything but a sweet deal for many New Yorkers. Capital Tonight's Kaitlyn Ross has latest on the debate.

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Likening sugary beverages to cigarettes or firecrackers, Governor Paterson says it's imperative that the legislature act on the soda tax.

"It's probably the best public health policy that we'll be setting in this decade," Paterson said.

And while it's an issue President Obama supports looking at nationwide, Paterson's chances of getting the tax through the New York State legislature look slim. Senators on both sides of the isle have called the idea "dead on arrival" when it hits the Senate floor.

"The soda tax, the beverage tax, the fat tax, whatever you want to call it. I'm calling it a bad tax and we're doing everything we can to defeat it," said Senator David Valesky.

"I don't think we should just turn our backs on such a significant public policy issue. It's not fair to say that something's dead when it hasn't gotten a fair hearing," Paterson said.

But it may not even get that far. Groups against the sugary beverage tax say it would cost upwards of 6,000 jobs in New York State and say it would hurt sales because customers can just go to a neighboring state for a cheaper soda. And lawmakers say they can't support anything that could hurt the fragile economy.

"This year, my rule is I'm not voting for any new taxes. None at all, at any time," said Senator Joseph Robach.

On the other hand, even people say the tax is on the table, think just looking at sugary beverages is discriminatory.

"If we're going to tax sugary beverages, why don't we just tax everything with sugar in it?" asked Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

And that is something the Governor said he was looking at, but stressed that this is a step by step process.

Paterson first introduced the legislation in 2008, but decided to take it out of the budget when the majority of New Yorkers came out against it.