Obesity is a problem present in almost all households today. Driven by the ‘fast food’ revolution, it is a concern to governments around the world. The United Nations has expressed its concern over growing obesity amongst young children and youth of our global society. While many countries like Denmark and Mexico have an obesity tax or fat tax, the Kerela government became the first Indian state government to impose the fat tax.
Pinarayi Vijayan-led Kerala government has imposed a “fat tax” on consumers eating junk food like pizza, burgers and tacos. The announcement was made by state Finance Minister Thomas Isaac on Friday, while presenting the LDF government’s first budget. A fat tax of 14.5% will be levied on all international fast-food chains like Pizza Hut, Domino’s, Subway, etc. The Finance Minister said that the proposed tax will help to raise the tax revenues by Rs. 10 crores.
A 2010 study conducted by VMS Bellary found that among high school students of Thiruvananthapuram’s city corporation, 12% were overweight while 6.3% were obese. Although the Kerela government has not issued an official statement clearing the air around the proposed tax, analysts certainly have. A tax of such kind has been imposed in countries before and has been highly debated. While the tax does insure that demand for high-calorie food decreases, it is a burden for consumers who like to go for such delights once in a while