Fat tax: Denmark's fat tax strikes again | GlobalPost - 1 views
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Denmark first slapped a fat tax on saturated fats. Now lawmakers plan to hit sugar, and even chocolate consumption, in the second wave of its pioneering assault on the country's bulging waistlines and clogged arteries.
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Christian Bager on 01 Jun 12The attempts of government intervention to change the demand of fat in the past and what the government is attempting to repeat now, in order to change the demand of sugar and chocolate. This will also change the supply of the goods, since the tax will hit the producer as well.
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Denmark will levy an extra six Danish Kroner ($1.05) on every kilogram of chocolate. The tax would go into effect on January 1.
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From 2013, lawmakers plan a levy on the sugar-content of processed food set at as much as 24 Kroner ($4.20) per kilogram.
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"The new tax on sugar in food will first be implemented from 2013, and the details will be discussed in the coming year,"
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The rationale is to improve the health in the Danish population by giving a stronger incitement to buy more healthy food.
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It's a trend that could be mimicked all over the world
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Mike Rayner, Director of Oxford University’s Health Promotion Research Group, said that combining the fat tax with higher taxes on sugary products would prevent people substituting fatty foods with sugary treats.
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"I think the saturated fat tax by itself would not have been particularly useful, but a saturated fat tax in conjunction with a higher tax on sugary products means they are trying to tackle unhealthy foods on two fronts."