The Mexican Senate has just passed, 72-2, an 8% tax on candy, chips and other high-calorie foods. It continues to debate a special additional tax of about 8 cents per liter on sugary soda. You can understand why Mexican leaders are worried about their nation's eating habits. Mexicans consume more sugary soft drinks per person than any other people on earth. Mexico suffers the highest incidence of diabetes among the 34 countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Mexicans are more likely to be obese even than Americans, the next runner-up. Taxes on junk foods constitute just a part of a vast fiscal reform proposed by Mexico's new president, Enrique Peña Nieto. The overall plan aims to rationalize tax collections, curtail tax evasion and shift Mexico away from dependence on oil revenues. That's all a topic for another day.
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David Frum: Mexican Senate passed junk food tax and is mulling a tax on sugary soda
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He says tax on junk foods is part of Mexican president's fiscal reform
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Frum says such a tax failed in Denmark, but Mexico's problem is worse and worth try anyway
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Frum: Problem raises issue of whether illegal immigrants to U.S. are really fleeing starvation
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