Tax on junk food but not on colas!
Kerala Finance Minister imposed tax on junk food but avoided colas. This was amusing as colas are found to be worse than pizzas, burgers or other junk foods. These taxes are not new at all. Known as soda tax or sugar tax , Mexico was one of the first to implement this at a large scale. Mexico is where we have the largest per capita consumption of colas - nearly half a litre a day. In the backdrop of Mr. Alejandro Calvillo's fight against cola giants , Mexico imposed taxes on colas/sodas. Countries like Unite Kingdom replicated this citing that such measures will reduce consumption of unhealthy foods. Kerala is the latest in this list, but made a half-hearted attempt, avoiding colas/sodas. For people who chased-off Coca Cola from Plachimada, this was surprising. I would say our most popular street food "kappa & erachi" & "porotta" are junk foods. Or the "parippu vada". Try imposing tax on them! Instead we...