Should We Tax Soda?

Taxes have a number of purposes. We use taxes to collect money for the government. We also use taxes to encourage behavior that we support or discourage behavior that we don't support. For example, people who buy houses, make donations to charities, or have children get tax breaks; people who buy alcohol or cigarettes pay higher taxes. With this in mind, many governments are thinking about taxing soda.

Click on this link and read the article http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-soda3-2009oct03,0,7367430.story

Then, answer the following:

• Do you think that we should have a tax on soda in order to discourage people from drinking it and to raise money?
• Do you think that we should use taxes to encourage or discourage certain behaviors?

Be sure to write eight full sentences and refer to your rubric for other requirements.