Kochi: Kerala government has introduced a ‘fat tax’ on food items that fall in the category of junk food, like pizzas, burgers, tacos, sandwich among others. The newly-elected LDF government in the state has imposed 14.5 percent tax on branded resturrants and resturant chians selling fast food.
The state’s Finance Minister said a fat tax of 14.5% would be imposed on branded restaurants selling food like pizzas, burgers, tacos, doughnuts, sandwiches, pasta, burger patty and bread-filling. Fast-food chains like McDonalds, Dominos, Pizza Hut, Subway among others are likely to see a hit on their sales as they would be forced to up the prices and pass on the burden to consumers.
The state government has also imposed 5 percent tax on packaged wheat products, packaged basmati rice and coconut oil. Disposable plastic glasses are also set to be costlier with a steep 20 percent tax imposed.