Add email to start...: Help to Buy issues won't be solved by taxing speculators, Hiking corporation tax: bad idea, worse timing, Denmark’s fat tax disaster – the proof of the pudding, http://healthland.time.com/2012/05/16/study-a-20-fat-tax-would-improve-public-health/. This rhetoric is pathetic, but widespread, and not limited to the health lobby. Denmark introduced a fat tax in 2011 but repealed it by 2013 when it found consumers shopping across the border for high fat goods. Get informed. The tax was, however, … About a year ago, the Danish government tested out a policy never before seen in the world. But you’ll never see anyone actually arrested for being fat… Fined, absolutely, but not the individual themselves, companies are the ones who take the hit. 3 An aspect that has hardly been investigated in relation to such food taxation schemes is the taxes' impacts on the formation of consumer prices. The objective of this paper is to make an effect assessment of this tax for some of the product categories most significantly affected by the new tax, namely fats such as butter, butter-blends, margarine and oils. It’s not as if people wanted to eat bacon, no no no no no, it’s just that supermarkets want to make profits. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. Denmark has taxed saturated fats since October 2011, and the experiment has been a failure. Why a fat tax is not enough to tackle the obesity problem July 1, 2012 4.47pm EDT. at http://healthland.time.com/2012/05/16/study-a-20-fat-tax-would-improve-public-health/. Denmark is one of the world’s largest bacon and pork producers. Today various personal and corporate income taxes yield around two thirds of the total Danish tax revenues, indirect taxes being responsible for the … Almost invariably, they hurt the poor more than the rich. I am doing a research paper on this “fat” tax for my political science class and your article definitely helped me see different viewpoints about this. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Denmark’s fat tax is being opposed by the country’s food industry, especially the meat producers. “The problem is it’s been tried in Germany, France, Denmark, Sweden, and all those countries ended up repealing it because it had massive implementation problems and did not generate the revenue that they projected.” Ever since the income tax was introduced in Denmark via a fundamental tax reform in 1903, it has been a fundamental pillar in the Danish tax system. I’m frankly disappointed the way that a civilised country such as Denmark have to lower themselves to taxing the poor – yes, that is what it is behind all the smoke and mirrors – to try and “Improve” their population’s health. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. I expect this to be removed/altered and an official apology written to him. [21] It had a trivial effect on the consumption of the target ingredient, it led to a range of substitution effects, it … A tax of at least 20 percent placed on sugar-sweetened drinks could drop obesity by 3.5 percent and prevent 2,700 heart-related deaths each year, according to a study in the British Medical Journal. A fat tax would reduce prevalent IHD cases by a minimum of 500 and 300 among males and females in Denmark, respectively, up to a maximum of 5,600 and 4,000 among males and females in the UK. On the other side the new measure is expected to bring the government about $400 million additional tax dollars a year. Multiple studies find that a tax as high as 10% (much higher than the Danish tax) would reduce population bodyweight by less than 1%. They lead to compensatory purchasing and brand switching. It emphasises the use of local and seasonal ingredients and is a … Snowdon. The fat tax did, however, raise more money than expected, but this only goes to show that it reduced the amount of high-calorie food sold by less than was anticipated. Environmentalists and nimbys do the same (air travel only serves the airline industry / development only serves the developers). Although it is politically expedient to portray them as ‘nudges’ designed to improve society or compensate for negative externalities, they typically act as stealth taxes while doing little to reduce harmful consumption. Well, first off, yes it is real, there is a sort of ‘fat’ tax that is applied for those over a certain BMI/waistline in Japan (85 cm for men and 90 cm for women). 28 Similarly, in Denmark, supermarkets did not fully pass on the tax to consumers on butter and oils, while discount stores fully transmitted the tax for blended spreads and oils. The proposed sugar tax plans were also scrapped. New research has found that fat taxes would increase the cost of living for UK families. Denmark has decided to abolish its fat tax after barely a year, citing too many negative side effects hitting businesses. Why fat taxes won't make us thin ... . Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. Denmark’s Failed Fat Tax. Wealth-tax supporters do not seem concerned about the likely damage to economic growth, and they have raised little money and have been a beast to administer. Most of us tend not to change what we eat based on a change in price — foods like butter and bacon are relatively price inelastic. In this new study, The Proof of the Pudding: Denmark’s fat tax fiasco, Christopher … I see it as … 4 s. It hit all food items with a saturated fat … A proposed sugar tax that … Danes are worried that the tax has increased food bills (which was the point of the tax) and that it could be threatening the food industry. 8 Interestingly, the discount stores also used the tax to increase their margins on butter and margarine, possibly because of the higher demand for these … They regard people as pawns to be fought over by the free market forces that they despise and the “progressive” forces that they say they represent. — However, the fat tax was abandoned after 15 months when surveys suggested only 7% of Danes had reduced their fat intake. Also, there is a comprehensive article on Time talking about the same thing. Stay Informed. Denmark says it will scrap a fat tax it introduced a little over a year ago in a world first, saying the measure was costly and failed to change Danes' eating habits. This paper summarises the recently introduced fat tax in Denmark, which came into force on 1 October 2012, and discusses some of the consequences of introducing the tax. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. The tax on fat could be making the 20% of Danes that changed their diets less healthy. The most important rhetorical trick of these groups is the distinction between ‘the industry’ (bad) and their consumers (good). The nutritional science is far from settled on whether carbohydrates are worse for us than other macronutrients (protein and fat). Hungary taxes foods high in sugar, salt and fat. Nov 17th 2012. Simple economics tell us that when you tax something, like saturated fats, enough to cause a change in behaviour then their consumption will fall in favour of a substitute. However you may visit Cookie Settings to provide a controlled consent. Author. The tax funds are used to pay for the different expenses that Danish society has such as welfare benefits, state pension, child benefits and for public institutions such as schools, hospitals, libraries and the police. As part of a move to curb the consumption of (apparently western) fast food, Thomas Isaac, finance minister in the newly elected LDF government, announced plans to mop up Rs 10 crore from this new tax. While Kerala's taken a swipe seemingly at Western fast … Denmark has introduced what’s believed to be the world’s first fat food tax, applying a surcharge to foods with more than 2.3 percent saturated fats, … Gov. A study on the French soda tax found that while the tax was fully passed on to the price of sodas (no untaxed substitutes), the tax was not fully passed on to the price of flavoured water and fruit drinks (substitutes more widely available). With 93 percent of votes counted, it appears the Illinois Fair Tax Amendment did not pass in the general election. Danes are worried that the tax has increased food bills (which was the point of the tax) and that it could be threatening the food industry. Enviably healthy Denmark is leading the way in taxing unhealthy food. Both Denmark and Hungary have introduced a fat tax or junk food tax, and France is taxing sweetened drinks. Taxation in Denmark consists of a comprehensive system of direct and indirect taxes. THE Danish government’s now infamous “fat tax” has caused an international uproar, applauded by public health advocates on the one hand and dismissed on the other as nanny-state social engineering gone berserk. At least ten per cent of fat tax revenues were swallowed up in administrative costs and it was estimated to have cost 1,300 Danish jobs. COPENHAGEN . We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. That the impact of the tax is largely unknown is a good enough reason not to mess with the food on our plates. “The problem is it’s been tried in Germany, France, Denmark, Sweden, and all those countries ended up repealing it because it had massive implementation problems and did not generate the revenue that they projected.” Evidence from Denmark demonstrates that such a policy would not only have negative economic effects, but would also fail to achieve its intended public health objectives. Denmark’s Failed Fat Tax. The economic effects of the fat tax in Denmark were uniformly negative. It is hard to coerce ‘healthy’ behaviour, and government should not try to. Denmark’s food taxes A fat chance. Furthermore, this paper discusses the theoretical background and reasoning for imposing a fat tax as well as some of the problems and concerns stated, especially by the food industry. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. Hungary taxes foods high in sugar, salt and fat. Gwozdz, Wencke./ Showcase : On the Way to a Fat Tax in Denmark.Berlin : CORPUS - The SCP Knowledge Hub, 2011. Denmark’s so called fat tax on foods high in saturated fats has been repealed by the Danish parliament only one year after being introduced. CC/235 351, LIMITED BY GUARANTEE. I would have thought that politicians would have got the message by now but it seems that this is not the case because illiberal, undemocratic public health campaigns continue to make headlines in the mainstream media and to feature strongly as part of the wider political agenda. Opinion polls showed that 80 per cent of Danes did not change their shopping habits at all as a result of the tax. Researchers have struggled to find any positive effect on health. The regressive effects of Denmark’s short-lived tax on saturated fat sowed the seeds of its demise. In this article, from the health section of the Spectator magazine website, the author explains how, one and a half year after its abolishment, pro fat tax voices are trying to rewrite history, claiming the Danish tax was more … Denmark introduced a tax on saturated fat in food products with effect from October 2011. To get people to change their behaviour you have to set punitively high rates. A courageous struggle against ‘ powerful interests ’ way they are doing it, and will it?. Little doubt that the impact on health cookies on our website to give you the relevant! To improve your experience while you navigate through the website our website function. 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