As any fule kno, when a government is strapped for cash they will perforce come up with new ideas for “tax revenue streams” (a.k.a. “innovative methods to steal money from the public”). Needless to say, they can’t just come out and say “we’re going to steal more of your money” because that might lead to public hangings…
…sorry, I went off to a warm and happy place there for a few moments.
Anyway, the theft has to be concealed beneath a maskirovka of some sort, and the best one (apart from “national interest”) is “public health”, which shouldn’t fool anybody but it does, repeatedly and regrettably.
Examples of this abound, the latest being that of Head Thief, U.K. Division — sorry, I meant Chancellor of the Exchequer — Rachel Reeves, who wants to tax (wait for it) milkshakes.
The Chancellor has drawn up plans to impose a sugar tax on milk and yoghurt-based beverages for the first time, after concluding that they are damaging public health.
The levy will drive prices up by as much as 24p per litre, with officials expecting 93 percent of drinks on the market to be affected unless they change their recipes.
I think the British public should express their rage profound disappointment at this proposal by reverting to an age-old mechanism:

But they won’t, because as long as it’s for people’s health, you see, it’s acceptable. (That sound you hear in the background is the bleating of sheep.)