Chilean Government Now Wants Higher Taxes on Junk Food

Following Rahm Emmanuel’s advice of not letting a crisis go to waste, the new center-right government in Chile now wants to extend the permanent rise in tobacco taxes—supposedly adopted as a measure to finance post-earthquake reconstruction—to foods with high concentrations of salt and trans fat [in Spanish]. Jaime Malañich, the Health Minister, said that the earthquake is opening up an opportunity to implement a measure that would increase the government’s revenue and fight obesity and that has been considered for many years.

My colleague Ian Vásquez wrote a few days ago that, by announcing unnecessary tax increases as post-earthquake reconstruction measures, the recently-inaugurated administration of Sebastian Piñera was quick to disappoint those who expected a bold move toward strengthening free market policies that have made Chile a Latin American success story. If these announcements are any guide, expect more disappointments.