THERE were animated discussions last week when Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube proposed to introduce a fast-food tax on items such as pizza, burgers, chips, chicken and doughnuts.
The tax will be at a rate of 0,5 percent on the sales value of items sold by fast-food retail outlets and restaurants.
To all intents and purposes, we should call this tax what it really is — a sin tax.
Commenting in a story that we carry in our business section this week, Dr Prosper Chitambara, an economist specialising in sustainable development, rightfully called Treasury’s new intervention “a class case of Pigouvian taxation using economic incentives to discourage harmful consumption while funding interventions to mitigate their impact”.
Let us face it: Fast-food items are not a need, but a want.
In any case, their impact on the country’s healthcare system is beginning to be felt.
We recently reported on the rising cases of children who are being diagnosed with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as high blood pressure and diabetes.
In fact, children aged 10 to 14 were identified by medical experts as the most affected.
While these lifestyle diseases have traditionally affected older populations, it seems young people are now equally vulnerable.
A recent case that comes to mind involved a nine-year-old boy from Luveve, Bulawayo, who now requires daily medication to manage his hypertension.
Another case involves a 13-year-old girl who experienced a minor stroke and was subsequently diagnosed with hypertension.
This was previously unheard of.
But critically, this is all the evidence we need to conclude that there is a problem.
In recent years, Zimbabwe has been witnessing a worrying rise in the consumption of ultra-processed foods, which, by definition, are described as industrially manufactured ready-to-heat-and-eat foods.
These products, often high in sugars, unhealthy fats and artificial additives, are linked to a host of health issues, including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and certain cancers.
What makes these foods dangerous is their convenience and affordability, which make them a popular choice. However, their long-term impact on public health cannot be ignored.
By their very nature, ultra-processed foods are engineered to be hyper-palatable, leading to overconsumption and addiction-like eating behaviours.
So, implementing a tax on fast foods can serve as a powerful tool to both discourage their consumption and, at the same time, raise revenues that can be strategically invested in health initiatives aimed at promoting better nutrition and preventing diet-related diseases.
This is a classical example of killing two birds with one stone.
And the money raised from these taxes can be deployed to raise public awareness on the dangers of ultra-processed foods and the benefits of a balanced diet, which is now urgent, and subsidising healthy foods.
By taxing fast foods and investing in health initiatives, the country can proactively safeguard the health of its population.
But this type of tax is not peculiar to Zimbabwe.
Colombia, a South American country, introduced a tax on ultra-processed products and sugar-sweetened drinks in November 2023 as part of a broader strategy to address the rising cases of NCDs.
It actually joined a group of other countries in its region, such as Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, which had also gone the same route.
What is, however, peculiar to Zimbabwe is the fact that, unlike most other countries that are unencumbered by sanctions, it has to raise most of the financial resources needed to sponsor its ambitious infrastructure development drive, among other requirements, from the domestic market.
It means Treasury has to be
ingenious in the way it finances its budget.
For us, it makes taxes unavoidable, helping to give credence to Benjamin Franklin’s often-quoted remark: “Nothing is certain except death and taxes.”
It simply describes the inevitability of death and difficulty of avoiding taxes, more so in our situation and circumstances.
Be that as it may, a tax on fast-food items like pizza, burgers, chips, chicken and doughnuts can hardly be described as disruptive. It is not!
Nothing is certain except death and taxes
THERE were animated discussions last week when Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube proposed to introduce a fast-food tax on items such as pizza, burgers, chips, chicken and doughnuts.
The tax will be at a rate of 0,5 percent on the sales value of items sold by fast-food retail outlets and restaurants.
To all intents and purposes, we should call this tax what it really is — a sin tax.
Commenting in a story that we carry in our business section this week, Dr Prosper Chitambara, an economist specialising in sustainable development, rightfully called Treasury’s new intervention “a class case of Pigouvian taxation using economic incentives to discourage harmful consumption while funding interventions to mitigate their impact”.
Let us face it: Fast-food items are not a need, but a want.
In any case, their impact on the country’s healthcare system is beginning to be felt.
We recently reported on the rising cases of children who are being diagnosed with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as high blood pressure and diabetes.
In fact, children aged 10 to 14 were identified by medical experts as the most affected.
While these lifestyle diseases have traditionally affected older populations, it seems young people are now equally vulnerable.
A recent case that comes to mind involved a nine-year-old boy from Luveve, Bulawayo, who now requires daily medication to manage his hypertension.
Another case involves a 13-year-old girl who experienced a minor stroke and was subsequently diagnosed with hypertension.
This was previously unheard of.
But critically, this is all the evidence we need to conclude that there is a problem.
In recent years, Zimbabwe has been witnessing a worrying rise in the consumption of ultra-processed foods, which, by definition, are described as industrially manufactured ready-to-heat-and-eat foods.
These products, often high in sugars, unhealthy fats and artificial additives, are linked to a host of health issues, including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and certain cancers.
What makes these foods dangerous is their convenience and affordability, which make them a popular choice. However, their long-term impact on public health cannot be ignored.
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By their very nature, ultra-processed foods are engineered to be hyper-palatable, leading to overconsumption and addiction-like eating behaviours.
So, implementing a tax on fast foods can serve as a powerful tool to both discourage their consumption and, at the same time, raise revenues that can be strategically invested in health initiatives aimed at promoting better nutrition and preventing diet-related diseases.
This is a classical example of killing two birds with one stone.
And the money raised from these taxes can be deployed to raise public awareness on the dangers of ultra-processed foods and the benefits of a balanced diet, which is now urgent, and subsidising healthy foods.
By taxing fast foods and investing in health initiatives, the country can proactively safeguard the health of its population.
But this type of tax is not peculiar to Zimbabwe.
Colombia, a South American country, introduced a tax on ultra-processed products and sugar-sweetened drinks in November 2023 as part of a broader strategy to address the rising cases of NCDs.
It actually joined a group of other countries in its region, such as Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, which had also gone the same route.
What is, however, peculiar to Zimbabwe is the fact that, unlike most other countries that are unencumbered by sanctions, it has to raise most of the financial resources needed to sponsor its ambitious infrastructure development drive, among other requirements, from the domestic market.
It means Treasury has to be
ingenious in the way it finances its budget.
For us, it makes taxes unavoidable, helping to give credence to Benjamin Franklin’s often-quoted remark: “Nothing is certain except death and taxes.”
It simply describes the inevitability of death and difficulty of avoiding taxes, more so in our situation and circumstances.
Be that as it may, a tax on fast-food items like pizza, burgers, chips, chicken and doughnuts can hardly be described as disruptive. It is not!
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