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The book proposes that negative VAT should be charged on healthy foods and high VAT should be charged on unhealthy foods. It sets out a four-step process to actually implement this new regime, each step of which depends on mechanisms that have already been used by government.
Perspectives are essays on big ideas by leading writers, each given free rein and a modest word limit to reframe an issue of great contemporary interest. – Diane Coyle, Series Editor
Consumers in Britain face a curious mix of taxes and duties that are messy, opaque and out of date. They are also unfair: the poorer you are, the more of your income goes to pay these taxes.
At the same time, we are ceaselessly bombarded by marketing information that is very one-sided. The foods that make us fat, for example, are promoted a great deal more than the foods that could keep us healthy – and again it is mainly the poor that bear the brunt.
The author draws on insights from behavioural economics to take a fresh look at these issues. It concludes that there is a fair, inclusive, adaptable, affordable and resilient way of enabling us to eat healthily and to tackle the obesity crisis.
Praise for Bad Habits, Hard Choices
Wars have been started over taxes and there is, for most of us, an initial reluctance to accept more taxes. The case for taxes and negative taxes to improve public health is made in a clear and easily accessible style. The author shows us how taxes can be introduced and met with public acceptance, and how to manage initial public perceptions of them as ‘bad’. – Martin Caraher, Professor of Food and Health Policy, Centre for Food Policy, City University London
The fact that I read, at one sitting, a book on VAT is a tribute to Fell’s ability as a writer. I liked the book very much – original, informative and well argued. – David Cadman, Visiting Professor at University College London and the University of Maryland
Fell’s book is really easy to read and accessible even to me. I love the way that the basic idea can so simply be extended to help create the socially, environmentally and financially fair society we seek. – Robin Stott, author of The Ecology of Health, co-chair Climate & Health Council
David Fell is a researcher, writer, presenter and activist in the field of sustainable economics. He is director and co-founder of the research and strategy consultancy Brook Lyndhurst. David has a degree in economics from Cambridge University; 25 years’ research and strategy experience for clients in the government, private and not-for-profit sectors; and was a founding Commissioner on the London Sustainable Development Commission.
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If you have ever wondered why the roads are congested, the trains are full and the buses are no longer running, this book provides the answers. The UK has never had a proper transport policy and it desperately needs one to address the twin challengers of getting people around cheaply and safely, while safeguarding the environment.
School of Thought: 101 Great Liberal Thinkers profiles the lives and ideas of some of the leading thinkers on individual liberty, from ancient times to the present day.
Why did Britain’s cities, once the engines of the industrial revolution, decline so severely? What needs to be done if our cities are once again to be the drivers of our economy? This book answers these questions, looking at the lessons of the last two hundred years.
