A Tax on Mastication?

You know the scene: You're walking down the street, minding your own business, when suddenly your shoe sole gets very sticky. Lifting your foot, you see strands of gooey material connecting the sidewalk and your expensive footwear. You've done it again, stepped in someone's discarded gum.

Well, Germans of all political stripes have had enough of this scenario. They want to get serious about the gumming up of city streets and are discussing a special "gum tax."

Conservative Christian Democrat parliamentarian Siegfried Helias said he thought levying a tax on gum is a "good idea." And Hubert Ulrich, head of the Saarland Green Party, told Germany's Bild newspaper he was in favor of a gum tax as long as the proceeds "are earmarked for the removal of chewing gum from the streets."

Not to be undone -- and possibly overdoing it -- ruling SPD parliamentarian Cornelie Sonntag called for "drastic punishment" for people who throw gum on train platforms and sidewalks. (By which she meant, one hopes, issuing a fine.)

High cost of cud

It may seem like just another "oh, those oh-so-orderly Germans" moment. But in fact, the idea came out of England. Last week, Liverpool started charging a "special levy" on gum, 1.5 cents per pack.

Uptight? Overly regulated? Vindictive? Maybe all three. But the politicians have a point. According to Germany's Bild newspaper, Germans cough up more than €900 million ($1.16 billion) per year to clean sticky bits of gum off their sidewalks.

Not to mention all that possible productivity lost while scraping off shoe soles.

As long as you don't swallow ...

Predictably, one group's response to the taxation concept was less than bubbly; a speaker for the German Chewing Gum Association suggested putting the focus on prevention rather than punishment.

He called for parents to teach their kids better trash disposal manners. And he added that levying a tax on everyone would be unfair, since most people do spit their gum out into trash cans.