According to their review of the scientific literature on junk food tax bills and laws, a federal tax on unhealthy foods would be both legally and administratively feasible in the US. Instead of a sales tax that would show up at the point of purchase, the researchers argue for an excise tax on junk food manufacturers. That should increase the shelf price of junk foods and beverages, and deter consumers from bringing unhealthy food choices to the checkout counter in the first place. [...]
In a recent evaluation of the Mexico junk food tax, people bought 7 percent less junk food than they would have if the tax hadn’t been imposed. That effect was even stronger than the 5 percent dent the tax made in the first year it was imposed. The researchers came to these conclusions by using buying patterns before the tax was imposed to predict future purchases, then compared that prediction to what was happening in Mexico.
The World Health Organization has looked at the Hungary tax, and found that junk food consumption decreased both because of the price increase and also the educational campaigns around the tax — an effect also seen with soda taxes. “Consumers of unhealthy food products responded to the tax by choosing a cheaper, often healthier product (7 to 16 percent of those surveyed), consumed less of the unhealthy product (5 to 16 percent), changed to another brand of the product (5 to 11 percent) or substituted some other food (often a healthier alternative).” [...]
However, as health researchers have long pointed out, “the costs of obesity arising from individuals’ poor nutritional choices are borne by society as a whole through taxes, lost productivity, and an overburdened health care system.” Some junk foods are also engineered to have addictive properties, like tobacco or alcohol, so you can make the argument that the government should in fact use regulation to nudge people away from them.
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