Fast Food Tax for all?

[Berberis]

With the recent announcement that Obesity costs the country as much as Smoking is it time for a fast food tax?

 

At present we tax cigarettes to the tune of approx. 58% of their cost goes directly to the treasury.

 

How about adding 50% to the cost of a burger? How about that money goes to subsidise healthy food for the rest of us?

[vwkittie]

Yea sounds fair enough to me, if the money went to the NHS.

 

Edit - I think there's a programme on TV about this tonight

[alchresearch]

Yep, Panorama.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/panorama/hi/default.stm

[AJ sheffield]

As long as it applies to all takeaways too, their food is absolutely no more healthier.

[Rupert_Baehr]

. .

[Boblet]

Unfortunately, that's not the way taxation works in the UK. If you wanted a food tax to go to the NHS, should other taxes be directed to specific things?

 

Fast food (as in takeaways) is already subject to VAT. Would you like to see increased VAT levels on non-essential items (hopefully matched by VAT reduction/elimination on essentials)? - That way, people would have the choice how (or whether) they paid the tax.

 

How about introducing VAT on prepared foods? (Which are often high in fats/sugar?)

 

I think that's the problem - there is nothing inherently unhealthy about a burger - it just depends what you put in it, how you cook it, and what you serve it with

 

On what basis do you decide which foods are (un)healthy - salt? sugar? fat?

 

As demonstrated with tobacco and alcohol - taxation isn't about cutting down on people's usage, it is about raising revenue - the last thing the Government wants or needs is for everyone to suddenly stop smoking

[Bulgarian]

As long as it applies to all takeaways too, their food is absolutely no more healthier.

 

A chicken skewer kebab with salad from Murdocks on Division St is pretty healthy (and nice)

[decaff]

Unfortunately, that's not the way taxation works in the UK. If you wanted a food tax to go to the NHS, should other taxes be directed to specific things?

 

 

Specific taxes should in theory pay for different things e.g road tax paying to improve our shoddy road network but like you point that is not the way it works.

[poppins]

Wouldn't work, Imagine the riots if the price of Fish & Chips went up Englands major fast food.

[skinz]

Wouldn't work, Imagine the riots if the price of Fish & Chips went up Englands major fast food.

 

And it's a fast food that is actually good for you. Even healthy food is bad for you if you eat it in really vast quantities as they do State side

 

We should tax the producers. If they want to make massive profits off the back of a growing 'fast' society then they should pay for it. Why hammer the the rest of us if we eat healthily? At least tobacco is a focused tax.

 

We are heading slowly towards the States in this area but we have a long way to go before that happens.