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Joshua Lott / Reuters
Candy bars are often subject to sales tax, although the cookielike nature of some bars can pose problems.
On this Halloween, as you prepare to satisfy your sweet tooth, get ready to shell out a few extra pennies for the tax man, at least in the 17 states that have special taxes on candy.
The Tax Foundation, a Washington-based think tank that supports "sound" tax policy, has chosen today to release a new report on the growing trend among states to raise taxes on candy and soda, at least partly in an effort to combat the nation’s rising obesity rate.
The foundation says 17 states that exempt groceries from sales taxes make an exception for candy, while 22 states plus the District of Columbia exempt soda. That means candy and soda are subject to taxes of 2.9 to 7.25 percent that are not levied on other foods and beverages.
Another four states have special excise taxes on soda and an additional 14 have been considering them in the legislature. Tax rates vary from 21 cents per gallon in Arkansas to 1.9 percent in Tennessee.
The Tax Foundation notes that singling out candy and soda for special treatment in the tax code can be complicated. Many states struggle to define candy, exempting cookie-like bars such as Kit-Kat and Twix, for example. Sports drinks and diet sodas are generally but not always treated as soda. Starbucks’ bottled Frappucino beverage is subject to soda excise taxes in two states and exempt in two others, the report says.
Some see these taxes as an easy source of new revenue and a way to modify behavior, but the Tax Foundation report concludes that “singling out soda and candy for taxation is a poor method of combating obesity.”
Such taxes unfairly burden those who enjoy soda and candy responsible and have “unintended consequences,” such as encouraging the overconsumption of food and beverages that are taxed at a lower rate, the foundation says.
What do you think?
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Sweets are non essential food and just like beer and wine- if you want to imbibe you should pay the price.
Ditto pretty much all junk food i.e. chips, soda, etc.
How about lowering the tax rate because of poor representation of our elected officials! Candy that!
there is a excuse for raising taxes on everything; all the States are dead broke, all the city's are dead broke, all county governments are dead broke, all school districts are dead broke; let us raise taxes on everything, food first, that will stop consumption ,look at all the fat people, next fuel for auto's, that will cut down on traffic, water, that will cause less use, sewage, do not go to the bath room so often, up every-body's co-pay with doctors and hospitals, that will cause them not to seek medical help, utility's that will cause them to turn off the lights and not watch so much television, and last but not least, clothing, no one needs more than two shirts a pair of pants and one jacket, look at all the money wasted on trying to look nice. THERE WILL ALWAYS BE A ARGUMENT THAT WE MUST RAISE TAXES1 ,
Isn't it ironic? More taxes for Americans with jobs yet food stamps can buy junk food and candy with taxpayer's money.
Most of the families that need assistance are families with children,don't they need a little joy, and be treated? But the real question is...'Do you really want the goverment telling you what to eat? It will effect everyone if such things as this passes! Being told 'You can have that, but not this! Is this really the type of world we want to live in? Thats just prison without bars! And there is a whole lot of Americans out there that have no jobs or can they find a company that even accepts applications! Believe me ,food stamp recipiants arn't out there livin it up! They worry about having enough food for the up-coming month, and there are parents out there that skip thier meals so the kids can have enough and not go hungry at bedtime,breakfast,and dinner!! As a reporter we know used to say...Give us a break! Let them have thier cake;) !!!!
considering it's state tax, would consider mass mailing a state gov.
No problem, they can have all the junk food they want when they get a job and pay for it like the rest of us. And don't tell me the adults aren't stuffing that crap down their filthy pie holes as well. There were plenty of welfare moochers sitting around when jobs were plenteful, don't pull that recession excuse with me. And now that they've occupied the public housing and leeched on entitlements for generations theres no aid left for hard working people who lost their jobs and now have to live in a tent.
As for food stamp recipiants not "living it up," how come its been discovered that a great deal of food stamp money has been spent in Las Vegas casinos, cruise ships, and exoitc locations? Please pull your head out of the sand.
This tax has nothing to do with obesity; what it is is simply a revenue grab by the government. Nothing wrong with candy or soda; what business is it of the government-which cannot even balance its own checkbook-to tell us what we can and cannot eat?
Do you have the same attitude about cigarettes and alcohol? If you don't then your opinion means nothing.
Where, gday67,is the nicotine/alcohol analogue in candy?
Also, tobacco is taxed to the ceiling. Why, then, do tobacco-related cancers still manifest themselves? Maybe the taxes don't go far enough? Maybe we should make cigarettes and alcohol illegal, candy, too! That would solve all our problems, right?
Pyn candy and soda lead to obesity which is bad for you like tobacco and alcohol. The whole point being all those things lead to health risks. That's why they tax tobacco and booze so much. Now it will be sugary treats.
No, they tax cigarettes and alcohol because they can, because people just consider it a price of their vice.
It takes a lot more than sugar and soda to create the 67% obesity/overweight population of Americans and there are plenty of healthy people who enjoy soda and candy.
I drink zero calorie zero sugar Diet Mountain Dew- should I have to pay the tax?
Then they should tax the crap out of all equipment used for dangerous activities since those using it are accepting the added risks and lead to increased medical visits and attention from emergency personnel. We all know why they are considering these taxes, not to protect us, it is so they have more for their raises.
Another thing- regardless whether product is good or bad, the economy is not in a state for the government to go about arbitrarily raising taxes. Keeping taxes on sweets where they are would currently be healthier than the alternative. I'll try some logic:
*Raise taxes so Americans will buy fewer sweets ==> Fewer sweets bought
*Fewer sweets bought ==> Less revenue for corporations producing sweets
*Less revenue for sweets corporations ==> Higher chance of layoffs by said corporations
*More layoffs ==> Fewer Americans working
*Fewer Americans working ==> Ailing economy takes even longer to recover
*Negative health effects from slowing our economic recovery > Health benefits from higher priced candy
Of course there are many holes in this argument, and it would be less valid in a more vibrant economy, but my point is this; the bad that could potentially come from increasing the costs of the sweets companies outweighs whatever imagined good may come from making someone pay more for their Snickers.
You want to fight obesity? Two words; knowledge and discipline. Here, take them. Give them to parents and potential parents so they can pass them on to their children.
If you eat 1 candy bar a week, the tax won't hurt you, nor will the candy.\
If you are a sloth, the tax will help pay for your medical bills
Next item on the crazy Christian's list is MEAT. Get ready for meat to be taxed.
Hey John.... you seem to have a lot of hate towards christians. Where in the article does it say that christians are the ones that brought on this attack on candy and soda? If this story had been about abortion then you might have a case. Quit being a troll!
The crazy Christians???? Johnny my boy, this nanny state crap has nothing to do with Christians.....and everything to do with liberals - they want to dictate every aspect of our lives,
Libs ought to get a life. I've been over 18 for many years now.
Letting your brain take the "liberals are at fault" (ir)rational is just as crazy as blaming Christians.
gday67; I just got back from spending a week around my Christian brother and his extended family - they are so wrapped up in hate that you couldn't pay them to have a good time. It saddens me to see them so uptight - he was such a happy kid and now it seems like he can't snap out of his anger. Thankfully I avoid his wrath by changing the subject - the rest of his family has to sit there and take it (& join in) - It's heavenly to be able to go home...lol.
Speaking of trolls - nice hi-jack of the thread.
I must be one hell of a good American - cuz most of what I enjoy gets sin taxed (good thing I don't drink)....messin with my two main food groups; diet cola and chocolate....eeerrrrr.
Why not just stop subsidies to the sugar industry, prices would rise on their own without a tax.
Sugar is subsidized!?! Why don't they just end that then? In today's language, cutting off subsidies is equivalent to a tax increase anyway.
If you had done any research beforehand, which you obviously haven't, you would know that our highest crop subsidies are for corn, not sugar. Sugar's share of crop subsidy is 0.8%. Corn's is 35% (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agricultural_subsidy#United_States ). This is why most American sugary items use high-fructose corn syrup. Thus, prices probably would not rise that much without a sugar subsidy; companies would just switch from sugar to corn syrup.
The food chain; Monsanto to lobbyists to politicians.
Nonesense. The government is the one with the over consumption problem.
Sure is----especially this current administration.
Just wait.... this is only the first step in government trying to get tax dollars from food. It starts with food that is not healthy then slowly progresses little by little until you're being taxed on lettuce as much as you are on candy. Government never created a tax it didn't like.
First it was alcohol, then cigarettes, now candy and soda...what to tax next...fast food, video games, extra tax if we don't work out enough, if our blood pressure is too high, we weight too much? STOP, STOP, STOP. It's not up to the government to decide what we will and won't do with our bodies. This is just another way for them to manipulate our lives to their ideals...sounds like it's becoming a religion...I pay my tithe and they tell me what I should and shouldn't do...I go to hell if I don't follow my faith...the government will just tax me more and more and more and more...get the idea?
Fast food is taxed, at least in Michigan it is;(
Not only do I think that it should be taxed I also think that you shouldn’t be able to buy these items with food stamps it angers me to see someone loading their cart with ice cream, individual candy bars and pop and paying for it with food stamps-this type of food is a luxury not a necessity if you want it you should be able to afford it.
This is only about making more money-period. This is not about combating obesity.
Same can be said of the tax on tobacco and alcohol. It's about stealing more money, not about stopping lung cancer and alcoholism. You can probably say that about any sin tax that the government has come up with.
West Virginia for one charges 6% of soda such as coke and right now charges 3% of candy but candy is a food in WV so when the Tax comes off in 2013 1% in Jan. 2012 1% in July 2012 and then the last 1% in July 2013.
When this happens I will be in the kitchen making my own, then bootlegging it to all who wants it.
In Ohio (at least 20 years ago when I worked in a Supermarket there), non-taxable grocery items (read: food) were covered by food stamps.
Taxable grocery items, such as sodas and candy, were not.
It was a way of encouraging those with limited food budgets, either with or without food stamps, to purchase more "healthy" items and fewer "bad" items.
Personally, I wouldn't mind if the tax was expanded to cover foods such as potato chips.
It's not that I don't think people should be allowed to purchase these items, but I would prefer that my tax dollars not pay for people shoving junk food into their children.
For the items that already have a tax, increasing the tax is really not going to make a large difference.
The fact that a regular-sized candy bar, before tax, has gone from about 50-60 cents up to $1.25 in the past year or two is more likely to have an impact on candy consumption.
I'm not into anything with sugar..so TAX IT..they tax my chit paper!
if your gonna tax candy, then by all means dont stop there. Lets tax the government for a stupidity tax and give us half our tax money back for being so ignorant. How about giving me 550 million for my Green Energy product that i made? Cant be no worse than Obamas loan to the company that went bankrupt. We should tax meat for causing colon cancer, right along with bacon.... tax ice cream for making us too fat, and having alot of sugar in it. And how about taxing all fast food joints that fry food? After all, if you eat that stuff it will make you fat and unhealthy... lets also tax video games that turn our kids into mush heads.... but by golly, lets not even ever bring up one item..... personal responsibility.
States are also looking for new ways to tax green cars as well because they get better mileage (less tax paid) ... wow great way to promote green!!! The more money goverment has the more they waste it... They won't stop with candy... chips, cheeseburgers, coffee... Just you wait... once they figure that we all have breath oxygen... Tax that too... :)
You're bang on "M". When taxing isn't enough, they'll start taking your personal property. Social Engineering is a terrible thing, and that's what's happening. Put a tax on stupidity, and we won't need any other taxes.
When these political idiots started cutting taxes without doing impact studies I knew this was going to happen. First it's cigarettes then a new tax on alcohol, and now candy and sweets. Then its fees that use to be taxes, but they believe the general public will accept fees instead of taxes. Next it will be a fiber and bean tax because of the gas they produce. Then a crossing the street, and danger tax. Then lets have a fee/tax for the middle class for being stupid for voting against there best interest. Then we can have an obese and anorexic tax. What these politicians failed to imform the general public is when they cut the taxes they failed to cut the population, 3 wars, and a corrupt government and economy. You cannot run a country on a budget with a population 1965 of (194,302,963) for a population 2011(311,992,678 known) about 20,000,000 unknown (illegal). That is the same as a family budget of 3 and their are 6 members in your family. They are going to make those tax cuts up by feeing or usage taxing us to death knowing we the middle class can't claim none of it for that tax year, and do knothing about it once it passes.
And then you have the obama tax on the people he hates most.... the people that work. There are only 50% of us working now, and we had better start working double shifts to pay for obamas friends and his political party, the people that will never work.
As usual, personal responsibility is not even being addressed here. Are we so out of control and unable to take responsibility for ourselves, what we eat, what we do etc. that we need the government to step in at every turn to keep us from ourselves?? People who choose to eat this crap suffer the consequences. What they should have to pay are higher health insurance costs. Obesity is the result of individuals, on a daily basis, over a consistent period of time, CHOOSING to make poor food choices, not exercise and become complacent with themselves. You don't get fat and stay fat without maintaining it. NO ONE makes you put cookies and chips in your grocery cart or go through the Wendy's drive thru. NO ONE makes you give your kids donuts and Gatorade for breakfast. Exercise some self control, use common sense. Buy fruit instead of cookies. It really IS that easy... But this isn't just about fat people - it's about people taking responsibility for what they do. Stop whining, stop looking to the government to be 'the parent' then bitching that government is too big. This is another example of "the pussification of America"
TAX THE FAT POLITICIANS INSTEAD ! they do way more harm to us then anything else
How about we just get the government out of our personal lives. I believe life liberty and the pursuit of happiness would include me choosing what to eat, what to drink, and what to smoke. If I want to die a fat, drug addicted, cancerous slob whose to tell me otherwise. Would if it was part of my religion? I happen to be slim and healthy and would not choose to mandate such life choices on other people, ask yourself, why would you?