KHAO ROLLS BACK MEAT TAX TO BOOST ECONOMY
A vegetarian buffet in Ngam, capital of Khao
June 16, 2018 (Ngam) - Khao's Regional Assembly repealed a tax on meat products in an effort to boost the autonomous republic's economy, which has gone stagnant since the June 10 tidal wave.
A motion to repeal the tax was introduced by Kahoku Phothisarath, a Democratic Socialist deputy in the Regional Assembly. Despite some opposition from staunch vegetarians, the motion passed with support from the Popular Front, the governing coalition, and the People's First Coalition, the largest opposition party.
"The meat tax is an unnecessary burden," said Phothisarath, who opposed the tax from the start. "It infringes upon people's right to consume meat while handicapping our economy when it is in tatters."
Phothisarath suggested that Khao's ban on the sale of meat in schools may also be repealed in the future.
"Let's rebuild our schools before we redefine what can be sold there," he said.
The repeal represents a setback for Khao's vegetarian movement, which seeks to promote the rejection of meat, poultry, and fish products through legal means. The movement traditionally enjoys broad support in the region, where most of the population adhere to a strict form of Khaturvism that encourages vegetarianism.
In 2015, pro-vegetarian lawmakers in Khao passed the "Promotion of Vegetarianism and Healthy Diet Act" which banned the sale of meat and fish products in schools and instituted a 20 percent tax on meat products in an effort to discourage the consumption of meat in restaurants, particularly those that serve fast food.
Proponents of the act praised it as a step towards full vegetarianism and healthy eating, while critics worried the act will make it harder for Khao to accommodate non-vegetarians.
But the repeal of the meat tax is a sign that Khao, a region reeling from a tidal wave that ravaged its coast, is putting economic concerns over dietary ones — something Lani Tayvihane, a vegetarian deputy who voted against Phothisarath's proposal, believes may endanger Khao's "spirituality."
"There are many great ways to reinvigorate the economy. Repealing a tax that encourages healthy eating habits and discourages materialism is not one of them," said Tayvihane, who was elected last year to the Regional Assembly to replace Kin Phak, the deputy who introduced the Promotion of Vegetarianism and Healthy Diet Act.
Phak, a staunch vegetarian, was killed during the June 10 tidal wave.