American billionaire Michael Bloomberg: The increase in tax for the poor is 'a good thing for these people'

US billionaire Michael Bloomberg says he would like to increase taxes to low-income citizens in his crusade against sweet carbonated drinks

He says this is "a good thing for these people." Bloomberg says he wants to decide what is good for people with low incomes. "The question is, are you going to give them those people? Or do you want them to live longer? No doubt, "he said. "If you increase the tax on sugar drinks, for example, they will drink less, and I do not doubt that sugar beverages are one of the main contributes to obesity as one of the main causes of heart and cancers, and many other things," he said at the tribune of the IMF in a conversation with IMF head Chrisine Lagarde.

The billionaire compared the US military with the coal industry.

"We have a lot of soldiers in the United States in the US Army, but we do not want to start the war just to give them something to do and that's exactly what you mean by saying 'coal kills people because we do not want coal miners to lose their jobs.' "The truth is, there are not many coal miners, and we can find other things to do. But comparison is life or work. Or tax or life? What do you want to do? Choose your poison. "
Bloomberg is a fierce champion of carbonated taxes.

Last year, he spent $ 3 million on an advertising campaign that supports tax on sweet carbonated beverages in Chicago. When he was Mayor of New York City, he tried to ban sugar juices in large packages in city stores, but failed. He also criticized recent tax cuts by US President Donald Trump. Bloomberg believes that this is an "economically unavoidable mistake" and will not lead to much higher salaries and growth.

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• 27 May, 2018
• 1405 views