Introduction of Indirect Taxing on Energy Drinks in France

It is responsibility of government and other health related agencies to control sales of energy drink consumption in their respective countries.

The controversy of regulating energy drinks has been explored by Sherryn Furter and Clive Post. Through her blog SmartParents (19/2/15) Furter reasonably contends that banning energy drinks is the ultimate solution to raise healthy kids. Whereas Post in his website BewareTheNannyState (4/10/15) argues that people should be given their right to choose. Unlike Furter who target parents, Post has reached for the wider public.

By imposing a sugar beverage tax, consumers will demand less of the good and drive demand downward. Similarly, the sugary beverage market is elastic to price changes ("Price elasticity of the demand for sugar sweetened beverages and soft drinks in Mexico"). If the prices of sugar beverages increase, the demand will decrease ("Price elasticity of the demand for sugar sweetened beverages and soft drinks in Mexico"). However, a counterclaim does arise which argues that even if consumers of these beverages decide to stop purchasing a taxed good, they will purchase substitute goods that have the same satisfactory effect at a price that isn't affected by the tax. This idea was presented by Jason Fletcher from the University of Wisconsin. In his published research, Fletcher found that BMI remained constant or increased even when consumers are confronted with a beverage tax (Fletcher, Frisvold & Tefft 2009).

The debate on weather sugary drinks, especially soda, should be taxed or not has been a topic for years. Some people believe that they should be taxed for the improvement of health while on the other hand some people think that taxing the drinks won't do much and actually hurt people. Taxing sugary drinks is helpful to those who have a hard time with temptation for the drinks. In the article "Do Soda Taxes Really Work?" Sifferlin states that when researchers looked at Berkeley residents, they found that when taxing soda started "sales of sugary-sweetened drinks fell by close 10% and sales of water increased in Berkeley by about 16%" (4) Just by the percent difference rasing prices on soda made people decide against buying the sweet drinks,

If you take one look at an average adults daily sugar consumption that is encouraged by these companies, you will soon be raising your eyebrows too. 14.6 kilograms…. That’s how much sugar the average Australian soft drink lover is consuming every year from soft drinks alone, this is equivalent to indulging in three bags of potatoes, instead filled with pure sugar. This huge amount of sugar intake is leading to high rates of overweight and obesity which intern lead to type two diabetes, heart disease and cancers. But there’s a simple way to reduce sugary drink consumption and that’s by increasing the price through a 20 percent tax on sugar drinks. This would decrease the consumption of sugary drinks and also reduce the rates of overweight and obesity, therefor reducing the amount of Australians with type 2 diabetes, heart disease and

Sugary drinks are blamed for increasing the rates of chronic disease and obesity in America. Yet efforts to reduce their consumption through taxes or other measures have gone nowhere. The beverage industry has spent millions defeating them. - Robert Reich. This quote shows that while a sugary drink tax would be beneficial the beverage industry will do anything to stop it. This writer is in favor of a sugary drink tax even though it might be a tough tax to implement. The tax could be used to expand on healthy eating resources and education. The government could also use the added revenue to subsidize farmers who grow healthier options. Lower sugar consumption rates would make way for healthier lifestyles. Healthier lifestyles would lower obesity rates and in turn help lower insurance costs.

Due to these plunging sales and low soda consumption rates, numerous corner stores and supermarkets were being shut down. The soda tax is a flawed plan to increase sales tax revenue because it resulted in a domino effect of arising issues. Since both consumers and producers bear the burden of the taxes, there will be a decrease in demand and production. Decreasing sales will affect the sellers’ ability to pay for labor, which will then lead to a cut in the workforce and one less distributor in the beverage market. In only a month, the soda tax increased the unemployment rate of the city. On the other hand, according to Falbe, statistics showed the rapid increase beverage consumption in neighboring cities (Falbe). Since the consumers relocate their spending to other goods and services, there was an increase in demand for labor, thus creating new jobs and increase in sales in the neighboring cities. However, even though there was a small percentage change in revenue for the other cities, the soda tax did absolutely nothing, but damage Philadelphia’s economy and net

However, the tax has been a concerned of many people. Some, especially those in the health field, welcome the tax. Yet, this tax is criticized by other people who are in the business of selling food and drinks with high sugar. It has enormous potential effects on retailers and soft drink producers, because tax on sugar will increase prices of foods and drinks with a high level of sugar, and it also will lead to increase the costs of production for business. According to the law of demand, as price rises, consumers willing and able to buy less, the quantity demands falls. Also, the law of supply shows that a rise in the costs of production will lead to a decrease in supply. Hence, business of sugary foods and drinks will decrease the supply, and business will reduce sales. In addition, Price elasticity of demand indicates that the demands of a good is affected by change in the price of the good. (Anderton, A., 2008) A report found that the price elasticity of the demand for drinks with high sugar is -1.6 (Colchero, M., 2015). Thus, the report shows that the price elasticity of demand for drinks with high sugar is elastic, which means the change in price of sugar will lead to high change in demand of sugar. Consequently, through the tax to increase price can effectively influence the consumption of sugar, which lead to reduced consumption. Nevertheless, it is unlikely that a single way of a tax would be effective in reducing sugar intakes. Government involves restrictions on price, promotions and advertisement, product reforestation and portion size reduction, implemented in parallel is likely more

In the last ten years or so, sugary bevearges have been a argument in American cities such as New York, North California, and Philadelphia. For thiis reason tax on soda and realitives have increase so wildly that made some cites stop selling taxed beverages. For example, Philadelphia pays three cent per ounce but they recommend two cent is more acceptable then three cent. as a result, of soda companies paying taxes provide city needs and communities. As some people say soda taxes are poor people taxes but, poor people are the ones always targeted in the market. In either case, taxes might be unreasonable however, it help our

Less money would be spent on sugary drinks when there are taxes. No one wants to pay more money just on drinks. While some people might think they could get a diet drink, it is also very unhealthy. An example of this is the “Proposition E”. The “Proposition E” is a tax that would have provided money for health, nutrition, and physical education programs. This tax was not accepted by the people in San Francisco. In addition, taxes reduce the consumption of soda (the liver cannot handle that much fructose). Beverage makers would be encouraged by the taxes to create new drinks that have only a little bit of sugar. For kids, they could get use to being more healthy.

Taxing sugary drinks should increase because it could save lives. For about a decade, policy makers and the soda industry have been fighting about the idea of a big soda tax. But taxing sugary drinks should be proceeded in order to help improve health problems. The tax is meant to protect people and to offset costs produced by products that can cause harm. Losing weight is not easy and the easiest way would start with a soft drink tax. The Department of Taxation and Finance needs to recognize that saving lives can be made through a tax on sugary drinks

The soda tax policy has open eyes to many. It has positively and negatively impacted the public health and the economy of lower socio-economic cities. In order for the tax to maximize its potential, which includes improving the health of these communities and building their economy, the government has to take many things into considerations. “High prices remain a formidable barrier for many people, especially those of low socioeconomic status, to adopt a healthier diet;” however, lowering the prices of these goods will decrease the motivation to produce. To accommodate these people, price of both food and beverages should be adjusted. Also, the taxes would be more effective if government studies the elasticity of goods before making rash decisions.

| |If Government introduce import/export charges on the energy drinks market, it may increase/ |

Starbucks is a major reason why things have changed for Coca-Cola and Pepsi Co, they have emerged in the market with balancing their menu with gourmet, coffee beverages that offer sweet and sugary options for their customers. In 2016, the soft drink industry is in the middle of the growing policy debate in the United States regarding taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages. Therefore, it hasn’t been a great year for Coca-Cola, Pepsi Co, and Dr. Pepper Snapple due to the public’s concern on the health issues of sugary sodas. The health problems with the sugar content in soft drinks have increased political pressures, as well as slowed the growth of these giant beverage companies.

Considering that soft drinks are one of the most popular drinks to a lot of people all around the world, unfortunately, a lot of them love to drink it almost every day and may not live without it. Soda becomes addictive, preventing one from drinking what the body needs the most which is water. In the market, there is a infinite amount of choices with multiple varieties of flavors, different tastes, ranges from classic soda to diet soda. However, consumers do not recognize clearly the negative effect of soft drinks that have a high chance of eroding their health away. Some of these examples include dental erosion, energy intake, obesity and other health issues. Nowadays, people live a healthy life to avoid health problems, so taxes on soft