Introduction: Let's tax junk food!

For brief 2, I will be discussing if we should tax unhealthy, so-called Junk Food.

I am all for the idea of taxing junk food.  Sure we shouldn't be told what to do by the government and pay more bucks for what we love to eat! But with the increased amount of health problems caused by the over consumption of so-called junk food, it is time to take an action.

In this brief I would like to discuss what Junk food should be covered by this tax, potential benefits of this tax and the example from other countries.  Healthy food and vegetables are often expensive. What if we used the tax to make them less expensive?

The very topic was discussed on Channel 3 show "The Vote  (26 March 2013) and there, you can view the full debate on the video or read the transcript.(Unfortunately I couldn't find it on youtube and the website does not let you copy the video for free!)  The result from the public voting was 54% YES and 45% NO to taxing on junk food. Not only the result but the debate that took place in the program shows how debatable this topic really is.

So, what are you eating today?



References:

The Result. (2013, March 27). Retrieved April 28, 2013, from 3NEWS: http://www.3news.co.nz/The-Vote-The-result/tabid/1788/articleID/292015/Default.aspx

The Vote: Is it time to tax unhealthy food? (2013, March 27). Retrieved April 28, 2013, from 3NEWS: http://www.3news.co.nz/The-Vote-Is-it-time-to-tax-unhealthy-food/tabid/1788/articleID/292014/Default.aspx