- Question
Should there be a tax on sugar?
When buying groceries you usually get a receipt and on the receipt is a section for the tax. Now the tax varies from state to state but despite what people might think it’s not the individual items that have a tax on them. Sugar itself is untaxed but people are starting to wonder if it should be.
Yes, there should be a tax on sugar
This position holds that there should be a tax on sugar. It argues that sugar is unhealthy, addictive and not something the body actually requires to function — so taxing it would curb consumption while generating revenue that can be returned to the community.
No, there should not be a tax on sugar
This position holds that there should be no tax on sugar. It argues sugar is a basic commodity—no longer a luxury good—and should remain exempt from the kinds of taxes typically applied to cooked or baked food items, rather than being singled out for special treatment.
It is difficult to tax a sugar
Sugar is not only a granulated substance but a nutrient in many different foods. Baked goods, candy, fruit, and condiments all have sugar. It is difficult to draw the barriers to where a sugar tax begins and ends.