Ontario Liberal MPs eye 'soda tax' idea for October election campaign

They have it in the UK.
It doesn't work.
It won't work in Fatario.
Just mo' money for dem gibs.

Yay! More taxes!

Ontario... they can do what they want... besides, I don't drink soda.

If that shit catches on there, you can bet it'll spread like a disease to other provinces. The government loves to create new ways to deprive hard working citizen's of their money.

A sin tax to fight the growing obesity problem in children. Looks like it raised 240 million sterling in the UK. How's it worse than taxing cigarettes?

Soda taxes work.

That the funny part about 'sin' taxes. It's easy to not pay them, simply by avoiding the product.

Mexico also is quite successful in implementing a soda tax. Now sugary beverages actually cost more than plain water!

Link that works:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/libera ... -1.5136724

What about all the other things that lead to obesity or at least contribute to it? From countless other food products that are high in sugar and/or fat to inactivity or general unhealthy lifestyle.

Why not just add a line to the tax form where you have to report your BMI and get taxed accordingly?


I get the point being made and if you don't buy these products then it's a non-issue but I see it as yet another source of revenue that will get pissed away on something that benefits no one in this country.

Wow, the Liberals really want to lose the next election...taxes are about as popular as cancer for most people. I don't like taxes, but I do like being able to go to the hospital, having good schools for my kids, and nice roads to drive on, so it's a trade off.

Under this proposed tax, it's okay if I stuff my face with two Big Macs and fries and wash them down with Diet Coke, but not if I choose to drink root beer? That's fucked up if you ask me.

That's like saying, we're going to tax beer because drinking and driving is a problem, but not tax wine, whiskey or vodka. Seriously?!?

Either tax all fast food, junk food, pop, and chocolate, etc. or don't waste everyone's time.

Given the costs to society for overweight people's health issues (of which I am one), I don't have a problem with this, but don't half-ass it or pick and choose what is or isn't taxed.

Kind of...but not exactly. It depends what you mean by "work."

The study showed people buying less juice and soda in the areas where the tax was applied for the period of the study.

It also showed juice and soda sales increasing in the suburbs around the taxed municipality. Businesses were affected, and there was more tax money for more government - that much is true - but there is no evidence in the study for improvement of health.

Governments everywhere are looking for sources of revenues... personally I'd rather they get that money from luxury and sin taxes, not from income or sale taxes.

What's left... a special tax on all junk foods and fast food maybe... since I consume very little of that, I'm OK with it.

When they tax the Sushis and Sashimis, then we'll have a problem.

...and chocolate, leave the chocolate alone.

I saw a news program one time where they were blaming increased obesity on the subsidization of corn.

By my not infallible memory the claim was corn syrup of some sort was in most processed food.

So let's say that's true for a sec and let's say we tax sugar drinks. Yay more money for government. So now let's tax junk food. Yay even more money for government. So now let's just tax all processed food...Yay, yay, and triple yay. Government is swimming in cash.

Or they would be if the economy didn't crash and we didn't have a society where farms preferred to grow only subsidized corn putting an increased value on other crops, and eventually only politicians and public sector union people could afford to eat - at which point the pyramid tumbles.