What is a Fat Tax?
A fat tax is a type of “vice tax” placed on foods high in empty calories in an attempt to encourage healthy eating habits. The revenues generated from the tax could be used to fund nutrition and anti-obesity programs and to subsidize the production of healthier foods. The fat tax was first suggested in the 1980s by Dr. Kelly D. Brownell, the director of The Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale. The World Health Organization published a report advocating the fat tax in 2003.
