Tuesday, April 01, 2008

April fool tax rise announced on gum chewers

1-Apr

In a late addition to the Finance Bill, Chancellor Alistair Darling has proposed two new taxes, both said to be based on a desire to have a 'greener and healthier' Britain.

The chewing gum tax will increase the cost of a packet of chewing gum to £4.50 from April 2009. This tax (as well as similar massive increases in the tax on chewing tobacco and Betel nuts) has been justified on the basis of the huge cost of gum removal and the public health issues raised by products that encourage public expectoration - said to be one of the main factors behind the rising number of cases of tuberculosis.

These measures are contained in the Treasury Order for Safeguarding Health (TOSH) of 1 April 2008.

Conceived by Joe Reevey of Conscious Solutions

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