September 10, 2004
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'Tax the fat' says minister
Germany's finance minister is calling for fat people to be more heavily taxed to relieve expanding health service costs.
Hans Eichel said urgent measures were needed to close the 41 billion euro budgetary gap, and is now looking to increased insurance costs for overweight Germans as well as extreme sport fans.
"Everyone is partly responsible for their health. This begins with what we eat and ends with whether we take part in risky sports or not."
President of the German Chamber of Doctors, Dr Guenther Jonitz, suggested a 'Big-Mac tax' be introduced on foods that contain sugar, animal fats and salt as well as on alcohol and nicotine products.
Comments (1)
Whoa. That's a good idea. You get healthier!
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