Tax Law Commons^™

Fitness Tax Credits: Costs, Benefits, And Viability, Daniel Reach

Daniel Reach

Rates of overweight and obesity are a growing problem in the United States, and tax incentives are an effective response to encourage healthier behavior. A focus on tax incentives to encourage exercise, instead of a focus on diet, would largely avoid the special-interest opposition that tax policies focused on diet have experienced and also provides a more palatable solution for the taxpayer beneficiaries with a low impact on government revenues. Viable tax incentives to encourage greater fitness include tax credits and sales tax breaks, and in the alternative direct subsidies can be used to facilitate similar behavior. This Article posits …