Kerala exempts dosa from fat tax which will remain for burgers, tacos, pasta, doughnuts and patties

Kerala had imposed a 'fat tax' of 14.5% on certain eatables to curb consumption of junk food. The dosa, one of south India’s beloved snacks, has now been exempted from this proposed ‘fat tax,’ but it will remain for fast foods like pizzas, burgers etcetera.
This has been reported in indianexpress.com dated 11 November 2016.

It may be recalled that the decision to impose a 14.5% ‘fat tax’ had been made by the state’s finance minister in July. It was the first time any government in the country has decided to impose such a fat tax in a bid to discourage consumption of food that may lead to obesity. Of course, countries like Denmark had introduced such moves, but it was withdrawn within a year due to public backlash.
Along with the 'fat tax', a 5% tax was also proposed on coconut oil with its repercussions likely to be severe in the state.
However, it has now been clarified that the 'fat tax' will be imposed only on products like burgers, tacos, pasta, doughnuts and patties, leaving out dosas, a most common breakfast dish in the state. The exemption has been extended to products made by prisoners as well because many prisons in Kerala have received praise for churning out good quality food products through prisoners who get paid through the program as well.
Incidentally, the newly installed LDF government in the state has complained that the coffers are largely empty because of massive corruption and mismanagement of funds in the earlier Congress-led regime and the imposition of the fat tax was an attempt to bolster finances of the state.


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Kerala introduces a 'fat tax' of 14.5% on fast foods like burgers and pizzas

Kerala has set a new end in generation of revenue - the state has pioneered the fat tax in the country by introducing a 14.5 per cent levy on burgers, pizzas and similar food in branded restaurants. This concept is quite popular in some western countries as it tries to make food or beverages linked to obesity costlier in order to discourage their consumption.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 9 July 2016.

This fat tax has been levied by the new Left government in Kerala through its annual budget. A tax of 14.5 per cent is being levied on food items like burger, pizza, tacos, donuts, sandwich, burger-patty, pasta, bread fillings and others sold by branded restaurants as fat tax.

This is the first time in India that any state has imposed such a tax. Kerala hopes to earn around Rs 10 crore a year from the fat tax which is like a drop in the ocean because liquor had made the state exchequer richer by Rs 8,100 crore in 2015-16. Outlets like KFC and Domino's have mushroomed in the state and the government wants to tap the hidden potentials for earning more revenue.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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