Fat Tax – We are already aware of different kinds of taxes imposed by government on food items . If you check your McDonald or Subway bill you will find that other than base amount, we pay a variety of taxes. Apart from service tax which is 14% of the total bill, year 2016 included two new taxes – Swach Bharat tax (0.5%) and Krishi kalyan Tax (0.5%). In a nutshell, we are already paying 15% tax to enjoy our meals in a restaurant.
This article is an eye catcher for all the foodies as we are discussing about a special tax – Fat Tax. Fat tax as its name represents is a special kind of surcharge or tax .It is proposed to be imposed on junk food like burgers, pizzas etc., or any other fating diet.
The major purpose of applying Fat tax is to decrease the net consumption of unhealthy food causing obesity. The basic idea is to fine those food item that are harmful to heart and body. Consumption of junk cuisine sold by major brand chains increases the chances of diabetes and other health problems.
This move was first implemented in India by Kerala CPI government. It has imposed a fat tax of 14.5 % on all kind of detrimental junk cuisine consumption’s. Kerala has over 50 plus branded and unbranded food chains selling fattening food items like burgers, pizza, donuts and tacos. A majority of foodies opposed this move while it was supported by advocates of healthy eating habits.
As per the statement of Finance minister Thomas Isaac of Kerala, this motion is taken to prevent people from eating unhealthy food .People have been eating a lot of junk and rejecting the healthy and traditional cuisine.
Many people like self-professed fast food vendors are finding this as an additional tax to the prevailing taxes like service tax, Swach Bharat etc. According to these vendors, government should bring down the prices of healthy food to promote traditional and non-fating cuisine.
Government on the other hand is unaffected by all the opposition and criticism. According to government this will help people choose their food wisely and improve nation health. Also, majorly this will affect the elite section of society indulging in fine dining of food and beverages.
As per various media sources and a few weekly newspapers, Maharashtra government is also considering adding fat tax in this year budget. This will highly affect the major party going and fine dining people of Mumbai and Pune. The plan is to reduce obesity from India and bring healthy diet in our food. Though nothing has been officially announced yet but there are high chances of fat tax being introduced in Maharashtra.
This year budget has been much awaited due to various norms like demonetization etc. Let’s see what else gets included .For food lovers, it’s better to get your cravings down as it will cost you more bucks going forward. A general tip is to eat healthy and stay healthy with occasional outside food.