Large sodas, alcohol, and tobacco are just a few things governments around the world want to keep us away from. It seems governments worldwide have embraced what economists call “sin taxes” — taxes on goods considered harmful to society, like sugary drinks, tobacco, and alcohol — as both a quick fix to budget imbalance and to preserve public health. Now, as India’s Group of Ministers (GoM) considers hiking the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on these so-called sin goods to 35 per cent, there’s much to dissect about the real impact of such measures. The idea behind a sin tax is pretty straightforward: make harmful products more expensive, so people buy less of them.

It’s about nudging us away from bad habits while boosting government funds. Take a moment to think about where that tax-generated revenue goes and whether taxes actually work. If people quit consuming these goods, the revenue dries up raising questions about whether these taxes are really about public health or just a convenient cash grab. In an ideal world, these funds would be redirected to improve public health systems, offsetting the costs associated with the........

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