TL;DRAbstract
A Fat Tax, although well intentioned, would be an inefficient and ineffective means of tackling rising obesity. Unlike cigarettes or plastic bags, some amount of fat consumption is desirable. The public policy concern is with over-consumption which is harder to influence through the tax system. A Fat Tax would be poorly targeted hitting all consumers regardless of their health status. Administratively, it would be difficult to implement, requiring constant vigilance that our current system is not designed to provide. And as a means of raising revenue it would be doubly regressive as poor people are more likely to eat fatty foods and food takes up a higher percentage of their income.
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A Fat Tax, although well intentioned, would be an inefficient and ineffective means of tackling rising obesity. Unlike cigarettes or plastic bags, some amount of fat consumption is desirable. The public policy concern is with over-consumption which is harder to influence through the tax system. A Fat Tax would be poorly targeted hitting all consumers regardless of their health status. Administratively, it would be difficult to implement, requiring constant vigilance that our current system is not designed to provide. And as a means of raising revenue it would be doubly regressive as poor people are more likely to eat fatty foods and food takes up a higher percentage of their income.
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