OFF THE CUFF: Sin tax increase to aid the poor?

A PROPOSAL to increase penions that are lower than the cost of the basic food basket by 25 percent is contained in a draft bill heading for the National Assembly.The proposal is an initiative of PRD Deputy Iracema de Dale who introduced it to the Commission on Labor, Health and Social Development. In July when the cost of the basic food basket was $318.40.

 Dale says that the proposal seeks to “contribute to a more balanced and humanistic society.” To pay for the increase, Dale suggests that the “sin” tax on soft drinks, alcohol and cigarettes be increased. The “sin” connotation arises because soft drink consumption is considered to be a major contributor to obesity, which leads to an unsustainable cost to health services and creates an additional tax burden.
Taxes on alcohol were raised in the latter part of the Martinelli administration, seen by some as a sideswipe at the Varela family liquor production business.