Obesity tax does not find favor with New Yorkers
POSTED December 28, 2008 - 13:08 | POSTED BY Jyoti Pal
Last edited by Harpreet Bhagrath on December 28, 2008 - 13:19
Albany, New York, December 28: While New York’s Governor David Patterson has tried solving a dual trouble with his so–called ‘obesity tax’ proposal; firstly, raising money to fill the budget deficit and secondly, indirectly acting on the growing obesity epidemic, the idea doesn’t click as was perceived, results of the new poll show.
Governor Paterson’s proposal to levy an 18 percent ‘obesity tax’ on non-diet soda and other sugary drinks to bridge the budget deficit is not finding favor with many. The proposal states that any fluid that has less than 70 percent fruit juice will attract this tax.
Results of the poll, conducted by the Quinnipiac University, revealed that 60 percent of the New Yorkers feel that the tax should not be imposed. An overwhelming proportion of the democrats as well as the republicans were also against the tax. A mere 37 percent voted in favor of the tax.
When the results were made public, Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said, "Voters aren't swallowing the proposal to tax non-diet soft drinks."
In fact one message was loud and clear. Levy tax on the affluent, not on the soda! Voters appeared more than willing to tax millionaires as 84 percent favored taxing the rich. A healthy trend that was witnessed was that 73 percent and 67 percent said yes to taxing cigarettes and alcohol respectively.
On whether such a tax will have any impact on the obesity epidemic or not, dietician Susan Deno noted, "Well, obesity is a result of people taking in more calories than what they're expending or burning up. So, if it causes them to take in fewer calories, it will have an impact on obesity rates." In nutshell, if the increase in price acts as a deterrent, it will surely reduce calorie intake and thus ward off obesity.
So where from should the government collect? 44 percent of the respondents said that auto registration fees should be hiked, 31percent were in favor of hiking sales taxes whereas 14 percent saw no hitch in hiking the income tax.
