Tackling the Obesity Epidemic: A Proposal to Enact a Federal Excise Tax on Sugar-Sweetened Beverages

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Date
2016-12
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Abstract
Rising obesity rates in the United States are both a growing public health concern and an increasing burden on the U.S. economy, leading to higher expenditures on health care and disability insurance, decreased worker productivity, and other societal costs. One significant contributor to the obesity epidemic is the consumption of added sugars. This capstone proposes to enact a federal excise tax of $0.01 per ounce on caloric sweetened beverages to reduce obesity rates, and to use the revenue to offset the federal costs of health care.
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Keywords
obesity, sugar, excise tax
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