News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on Sticker shock over Seattle's new sugary drink tax. Parent comment

Re:Sticker shock over Seattle's new sugary drink tax by bryanlarsen on Tuesday January 09, 2018 @08:29AM (#16105961)
"Pigouvian tax" is the term for a tax on negative externalities.

A tax on sugar is both a sin tax and a Pigouvian tax. IMO the real reason for its introduction was the sin tax angle, but it's Pigouvian tax principles is what makes it a "good" tax.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Sticker shock over Seattle's new sugary drink tax by pm90 on Tuesday January 09, 2018 @11:52PM (#16112645)
I was under the impression that the taxes were more from a public health perspective: smoking, alcohol etc. are leading causes of death and we want to discourage public consumption while at the same time raising revenue
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Sticker shock over Seattle's new sugary drink tax by bryanlarsen on Wednesday January 10, 2018 @06:36AM (#16114219)
That's basically the definition of a sin tax: a tax to discourage you from doing things that are bad for you.
[ Parent | on HN ]