Fat Tax: For It or Against It?

[Vaskez]

Hmm it would just be another addition to the "tax the smokers, drinkers and drivers i.e. almost everybody". What a load of bollocks! It's not gonna make much difference at all - people will still eat just as much crap! There are enough adverts and health-food knowledge out there for everyone to know what they SHOULD eat. If you choose to eat unhealthy food because you prefer it, it's your choice and you probably know what you are doing. Personally I eat quite a lot of crap, fast and junk food but I try and balance it out with a much higher than average level of excercise and so far it is working as I am not at all fat, but I am still young. I will probably have to change when I'm older.

[Bungleau]

I can appreciate the idea, but neither case presented in the links is logically sound. The first refers to obesity as the cause of videos, junk food, and commercials (read it; it's there); I suspect they really mean the contrary, that those things cause obesity.

And the second says that with the added VAT, companies will gain an incentive to use better quality foodstuffs. Sorry, but the VAT does not affect the companies; it affects the consumer. The added tax is passed on to the consumer, based on the price that is charged.

But where it really fell apart for me is when the bureaucrazies decided that they'd use this tax money to fund an institution for the treatment of obesity (or whatever they called it). Puh-lease! Take taxes away to create more government bureaucracy? I don't think so, Tim.

The idea of a fat tax is nice, but it assumes the world is simple and such a tax will have a beneficial effect. What it's really saying, though, is if you can't conrol your own life, you'll pay me to pretend to do something about it. And you should, because I'm better than you. I know all, see all...

Grrrrr..... deep breaths. Silly politicians. Cold Mountain Dew. Better...

[Donut]

Originally posted by Sir Taliesin: I voted that it wouldn't bother me to pay a little bit more, but at the same time I don't hink that it's any of the Government's business whether I'm fat (I am) or not. I do think the 17.5% VAT tax in Britain is extreme to the max! Especially, when I understand that the average British citizen is already paying something like 80% of his or her income in taxes anyway.

Top rate of income tax is 40% for earnings over £35k.

[Dreamer128]

I'm no specialist, but I think The Netherlands has a tax of 19% on all luxurious goods. Including games, cars, etc. Perhaps another Dutch member could verify this?

[ 06-20-2003, 06:49 AM: Message edited by: Dreamer128 ]

A fat tax.

Come on! It is just a name for another tax like all the other tax rates and stuff we pay.

[Desdicado]

Against, it just penalises the poor and generates more revenue for the government.
I think we should have a "Reality show Tax" that makers of such crap programs as "big brother", "pop idol", "I'm a celebrity" etc should have to pay before subjecting us to their mind numbing nonsense.

[ 06-20-2003, 07:23 AM: Message edited by: Desdicado ]

[Micah Foehammer]

Originally posted by Desdicado: Against, it just penalises the poor and generates more revenue for the government. I think we should have a "Reality show Tax" that makers of such crap programs as "big brother", "pop idol", "I'm a celebrity" etc should have to pay before subjecting us to their mind numbing nonsense.

How does the fat tax single out the poor, Desdicado??? I'm not a fan of the tax in the first place, but I fail to see how the lower income families are singled out?

[Donut]

Originally posted by Micah Foehammer: How does the fat tax single out the poor, Desdicado??? I'm not a fan of the tax in the first place, but I fail to see how the lower income families are singled out?

" A levy on fatty foods would be widely perceived as a regressive tax because people on lower incomes tend to eat proportionally larger quantities of cheap, high-fat food"

It's more expensive to eat healthy foods.

[Micah Foehammer]

It's more expensive to eat healthy foods????

Sorry, I don't buy that one.

[Sir Taliesin]

Originally posted by Micah Foehammer: It's more expensive to eat healthy foods???? Sorry, I don't buy that one.

You don't go to the grocery much do you. So called health food and diet foods and foods that are grown organicly and no hormone added meat and non-radiated meat... etc... etc... ad nauseum cost about 20% more at the store than the regular high sugar/fat stuff does.

As far as the tax in other countries, you guys are just talking income tax. what about sales tax, and property tax, and VAT tax and so forth and so on. Don't you have to pay a tax to drive in the city of London? Will a tax is a tax is a tax. Donut and Epona, have you ever considered how much the average citizen pays when you add all that in? In the US, it takes a person almost a half a year to earn the money to pay all the taxes we pay.