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The benefits of a fat tax
The benefits of a fat tax
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Fat taxes have been experimented with in numerous European countries. There are many benefits such as boosting economic growth, improving health and elongating life expectancy. On the contrary if a fat tax is implemented into a weak economy it could cause the loss of jobs due to higher prices. These higher prices cause local consumers to begin to purchase their unhealthy products in different states or countries, causing the loss of business for local industries. France, Hungary and Denmark all have experimented with the enactment of a fat tax. All four countries experienced varied results with both positive and negative outcomes. The French, when implementing the “Junk Food Tax”, wanted to decrease unhealthy food eating habits and generate revenue geared toward supporting health measures. Sounds like the same goal that the American government has. The French found that taxing three different categories (cheese/butter, sugar fat products, and ready meals) would have the most effective impact on households’ caloric intake and decrease of saturated fats. It helps to tax numero...
The argument talked about how the American diet should be changed since it is unhealthy and can cause numerous problems such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. In light of this issue, Bittman proposed the idea of taxing unhealthy food and drinks while promoting vegetables. This plan could potentially kill six birds with one stone. The benefits would include less unhealthy food consumption, the decrease of diseases, and the decrease of public health costs. They would also include in making healthy food more available to the masses, the environment would improve, and it would save billions of dollars annually that could be raised for other places and activities. Americans should implement ideas from countries like Japan and Denmark to help with this problem.
If gluttony is one of the seven sins then we have many sinners in America. Obesity is a large problem in this country and more needs to be done to combat obesity. No one good solution, I believe, has been proposed to solve this epidemic. Jonathan Swift had an ingenious proposal to solve the problems of Ireland by feeding the children to the rich, after they reached the age of one. His proposal would have been beneficial because it would have solved many other problems. I have a solution to the obesity in this country that will solve several problems and benefit the country and its people. After people reach maturity and if their stomachs stick out more than 4 inches past their chest cavity, that area between the pectorals, then they should cut this excess flab/flesh and eat it.
Drenkard, S. (2010). Overreaching on Obesity: Governments Consider New Taxes on Soda and Candy. Retrieved from http://heartland.org
While nobody denies we have a problem with taxation in this country for food, beverages, and everything that we buy in general, I believe that we should have a fat tax to detour people from buying soda and other fattening foods. We should also ban sodas and other fattening foods from vending machines in schools, and replace them with more healthy selections.
Obesity is clinically defined as a body mass index (BMI) of above 30kg/m2 and is the accumulation of excess adipose tissue1. It is currently viewed as an epidemic due to the increasingly large proportion of adults who are now obese, with the incidence rapidly rising in the recent years. In a five year period from 1995-2000 there was a predicted increase of 100 million obese individuals world-wide 2. In UK it is estimated that over 25% of adult males and females are obese and it is thought that these figures will continually rise with estimations that 60% of adult men and 50% of adult woman with be obese by 2025.3 Being a huge burden on the NHS, it has been predicted that £5 billion a year is spent on preventing and treating the complications of excessive weight in the UK, which is almost 5% of the total NHS budget (£5billion/£108billion).4 The cost of obesity on the NHS will rise to correlate with the increasing incidence illustrated.
Obesity is a rising problem in the United States. With obesity rates on the rise something must be done to prevent this massive issue. There are ways to help including educating at young ages, improving nutrition facts at restaurants, and providing more space for citizens to get physically active.
In the UK as well as in other developed countries, obesity is becoming a growing problem this puts pressure on health services and affects individuals’ ability to work, and contribute to the economy. The government feels the pressure to act by taxing unhealthy foods and drinks, and by setting up educational campaigns, (Stephen Adams, 2011).
Everyday Americans die from the diseases they carry from obesity. Many Americans over eat because their social problems or because they are hereditary. Many plans have been discussed but finding the solution is the problem. Junk foods and unhealthy beverages have corrupted children’s minds all over the nation and putting a stop on it could lead to other benefits. Unhealthy foods and drinks should be taxed and healthy foods should be advertised more to help prevent American obesity.
Taxation has always been a major controversy. Just like any major corporation, the government is constantly looking to raise revenue. The easiest and fairest way to do this is by taxing the people. However, how the people will be taxed is always an issue.
The government must have a say in our diets. Because the issues of obesity have already reached national scales, because the costs of obesity and related health issues have gone far beyond reasonable limits, and because fighting nutritional issues is impossible without fighting poverty and other social issues, the government should control the range and the amount of available foods. The cost of healthier foods should decrease. The access to harmful foods should be limited. In this way, the government will be able to initiate a major shift in nutritional behaviors and attitudes in society.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), obesity now ranks as the 10th most important health problem in the world (“Obesity Seen as a Global Problem”). Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and tripled in adolescents in the past 30 years. Centers for Disease Control and Protection estimates that obesity contributed to the deaths of 112,000 Americans in 2000 (“Obesity in the U.S. Fast”). It is estimated that annual medical care cost of obesity are as high as $147 billion (“Obesity in the U.S. Fast”). Government-provided food stamps are often expended on junk or fast food, because it tends to be less expensive than fresh or cook food. Governments fund producers of meat and dairy products to keep prices low. For now, governments are taking a smarter and more productive approach through regulation, and by working with manufacturers.
This nation is facing a crisis. Our populace is split, mostly along political party lines, between those that want to help the environment however possible for the betterment of the earth for future generations; alternativly, there are those who refuse to acknowledge the fact that the earth is in serious trouble due to human actions. The bag tax would help the enviorment dramatically by keeping an excessive amount of non-biodegradable plastic out of landfills, and thus making the world an overall cleaner place, which is something every person should want, no matter the political party.
It led to loss of jobs for many Danish people and it also increased the administrative costs for companies that fell under the tax (Vallgårda, Holm, and Jensen 224). The fat tax even led some native Danish people to run across the border to neighboring countries to get their favorite fattening foods at a lower cost than in Denmark (Khazan 2). These trips across the border led local businesses to go under because of lack of business (Vallgårda, Holm, and Jensen 225). So, although a fat tax would gain revenue for possible programs on eating healthier, it would increase unemployment and economic failures. The fat tax would harm future businesses leading many manufacturers to avoid dealing with the tax
Manitoba, a place knew for adoring new and high taxes, refused to add junk food taxes because they knew that it was going to be a waste of time and there would not be any positive results (5). The many studies of junk food taxes have soon other countries that it is not going to work. People will find other alternative to get the sugary high they need. A study in a small city showed that soda intake decreased for a small amount of time and then it increased again, as well as the sales on beer increased (Luciani P.
Tax incentive is defined as a part of a tax code provided a more favorable tax treatment for particular taxpayers or activities. The purpose of tax incentives is to encourage a certain economic activity. A general tax reduction is not considered as a tax incentive because it does not affect a certain sector (Klemm, 2009). Normally, tax incentives aims to develop the economy through encourage investment in some certain zones like backward regions. It helps to create jobs, to promote industries and to take advantage of technology transfer. In addition, government uses tax incentives to achieve social objectives such as environmental protection and R&D promotion (Batchelder, Goldberg & Orszag, 2006).