Tax Yourself Thin in 30 Days or Less

Published on Tuesday, September 15, 2009, by James Norton / Edit Post

Can you tax your way to a better body? A British town council may give it a shot. According to the Telegraph:

“An Essex council is considering levying a ‘fat tax’ of £1,000 on fast food outlets that want to open up in its area, which would hit everyone from McDonald’s to a small fish and chip shop. Barking and Dagenham Council in Essex said the money would be used to combat the growing obesity problem in the borough.”

In a way, this kind of a tax is a minor inconvenience, to be shrugged off. And yet it’s a real revenue creator, and in the future possibly a crippling burden that will drive businesses off or under. A thousand pounds (roughly $1,650) is no big deal, but when a tax is levied without fear, how long before that doubles? Or quadruples?

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POST A COMMENT |2 Comments

COMMENT

  • Every time I see a government initiative to tax the serfs in the best interest of their health and welfare, I think of P.C. Barnum's axiom about a sucker being born every minute. Please comrade, stop helping us.

  • And what is the money going to be spent on? "initiatives to combat obesity" Oh, thanks for making that clear. I would be requesting specific plans before forking over any money.

    I agree that obesity is a problem. I'm finally fighting it myself after many years. However, I don't really think that government should be making these kinds of decisions for us, especially when it would cost a...+READ

    And what is the money going to be spent on? "initiatives to combat obesity" Oh, thanks for making that clear. I would be requesting specific plans before forking over any money.

    I agree that obesity is a problem. I'm finally fighting it myself after many years. However, I don't really think that government should be making these kinds of decisions for us, especially when it would cost a business a decent amount of money.-COLLAPSE