“Fat Taxes” is the colloquial phrase for government imposed taxes on certain foods and/or drinks considered to cause obesity and decrease overall public health. The purpose of these taxes are to help to urge consumers to buy healthy food items and sway them from the unhealthy choices, they also are intended to be a boost to government tax revenues. However, these fat taxes have been shown to not improve public health or boost government tax revenue effectively, they have also been shown to fail and be repealed, and finally many people see these taxes as inappropriate and a violation of their individual freedom. These fat taxes show their true merit by falling short of their most basic of goals, generating revenue and helping improve public
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Many countries have expressed to their citizens the ineffectiveness of the taxes and those countries that have tried to implement the taxes have repealed them or they show no evidence of improving public health (Clark). A study on the calorie consumption in Mexico after the government implemented a tax on sodas deduced that “the effects of Mexican [soda] taxes on calories consumed in-home are very small” showing the failure of the tax to create a healthier population. The study also showed that “taxes of this kind have a stronger negative impact on the poorer households since they spend a higher proportion of their income on food and beverages” showing another fault of these taxes (Aguilar). This study combined with the experience in Denmark just go to show the ineffectiveness and failures of these fat …show more content…
However, after reviewing all of the facts it is evident that the statement about improving public health is false (Clark). The only true statement these proponents make is that it will earn the government more money. However, we can see from Denmark that the extra revenue comes at a loss of jobs and pushing many to shop outside the borders of these taxed regions and takes that money spent directly out of the economy of those nations enforcing the tax (Taylor). Also, from the study in Mexico the tax tends to cause even more economic stress on poorer families with no impact on that families caloric intake (Aguilar). The only people these taxes help to do in the end is the governments who just want to squeeze the most revenue out of their citizens as
Many countries have expressed to their citizens the ineffectiveness of the taxes and those countries that have tried to implement the taxes have repealed them or they show no evidence of improving public health (Clark). A study on the calorie consumption in Mexico after the government implemented a tax on sodas deduced that “the effects of Mexican [soda] taxes on calories consumed in-home are very small” showing the failure of the tax to create a healthier population. The study also showed that “taxes of this kind have a stronger negative impact on the poorer households since they spend a higher proportion of their income on food and beverages” showing another fault of these taxes (Aguilar). This study combined with the experience in Denmark just go to show the ineffectiveness and failures of these fat …show more content…
However, after reviewing all of the facts it is evident that the statement about improving public health is false (Clark). The only true statement these proponents make is that it will earn the government more money. However, we can see from Denmark that the extra revenue comes at a loss of jobs and pushing many to shop outside the borders of these taxed regions and takes that money spent directly out of the economy of those nations enforcing the tax (Taylor). Also, from the study in Mexico the tax tends to cause even more economic stress on poorer families with no impact on that families caloric intake (Aguilar). The only people these taxes help to do in the end is the governments who just want to squeeze the most revenue out of their citizens as