Will a Sin Tax on soft drinks curb consumption?
Will a tax prevent consumption as presumed akin to cigrettes?
Can soda be even considered as a sin tax?
Do soft drinks really present health implications?
YES
Side Score: 9
|
 |
NO
Side Score: 8
|
|
|
|
|
1
point
I am not going to speak about whether one should or shouldn't tax soft drinks; that issue is complicated and deals with individual liberty vs. health risk. What I will talk about, however, is that a tax on soda will cause consumption to decrease. Very simply, as price goes up, demand decresases, and a sales tax would be very likely cause price to increase. Therefore if your goal is to get less people to drink soda, then a sales tax would probably work. Side: YES, Health Benefits
I believe that soda is more to blame for obesity in America than any other substance. People tend to look at greasy foods but if you think about it, soda is everywhere. In many other countries they don't drink soda with every meal. And it's addicting. Every time I try to start eating healthy, soda is what leads to my downfall. I'm not big on government control on what I consume or high taxes but I will just say soda should be stopped. Side: yes
1
point
I think that it would decrease the consumption. However, I don't think that it will be a very large decrease. If people are addicted to something they will still try to get it even if they can't afford it. I don't know if this is true or not, but when they look at sales it doesn't show how many people drink the sodas. If sales go down that doesn't necessarily mean that the consumption has decreased. Side: yes
1
point
1
point
Sin taxes are ostensibly used for reducing transactions involving something that the society considers unwanted, and soda is growing support for sin tax. According to public officials, soda may become a sin tax because of the health implications such as overweight and obesity, which, in turn, increase the risk of diabetes and stroke. Side: yes
0
points
|
2
points
When I was a child, I could buy a cold can of soda for 40c here in Australia. Then the price went up because of inflation. Roughly 25 years later (I don't recall how old I was when I was buying soda for that price) the price of cold cans of soda has risen to roughly $2.00 (depending on where I buy it). That's what? 500% increase? And the rate at which people drink carbonated drinks is increasing. People aren't going to stop drinking it just because it costs more. Maybe if there were education campaigns on the health problems that are related to drinking carbonated drinks, consumption would drop, but cost isn't going to change a thing. Side: No
1
point
The price of soda as you said is mostly inflation. Yet the price has gone up and up because of addiction, which means a higher willingness to pay as you also mentioned, but the myriad of substitutes available. The world is addicted to soda. Yet, in terms of consumption, other than water, it is not even number one, which is tea, coffee and beer and then soft drinks. Side: No
1
point
For the sake of being heard, I'll post here. I do believe, however, that less people will buy soda if it's taxed, but I don't know if it would be a significant difference. Soda borders on elastic/inelastic demand. Let's face it, if someone likes to drink soda, they'll drink soda. I only drink water and try to stay away from soda as much as possible, but that's for health reasons. As prices of soda have gone up lately, people have still been buying a shit load. This is because the demand usually stays the same. It's possible that people won't drink as much, but they will still drink a lot. Basically, a tax on soda is for two reasons: 1. Tyrannical government trying to reap profit from a successful business. 2. Tyrannical government using authoritarian measures to force citizens to make decisions based on their limits (limits here being their income). moral of the story: Sin Tax is the result of a tyrannical government. Side: No
1
point
1
point
From basic economic conditions, a sin tax would curb the consumption of soft drinks due to the elasticity of soft drinks. There are a myriad of substitutes and consumers are very sensitive to prices. However, my intention of the question was that is a sin tax justified due to health? Side: No
|
