Image caption the tax increased the cost of butter and other foods with more than 2. To combat growing levels of obesity, health related taxes have been suggested with taxes on foods high in fat or sugar. What the world can learn from denmarks failed fat tax. Citing a harmful effect on businesses and consumer buying power, lawmakers in denmark have repealed the socalled fat tax, which was charged on foods high in saturated fats, after just one year.
In this context, denmarks fat tax can offer valuable evidence despite the fact that it was only in effect for 15 months. In bringing in its fat tax, the danish government also wanted to raise revenue, reduce costs associated with obesityrelated diseases, and increase health and longevity. The analysis indicates that the danish tax on fat was introduced mainly to increase public revenue. Pdf obesity, fat taxes and their effects on consumers. The failure of denmarks fat tax was also due to financial reasons, with. Denmarks tax on saturated fat was hailed as a worldleading.
The withdrawal in late 2012 of the danish tax on saturated fat, only a year after its introduction, has also brought to wider. The poverty effects of a fat tax in ireland david madden university college dublin march 20 abstract. France recently announced plans for a tax on sugary drinks. Denmarks lawmakers thought they had a winwin through a tax on food with more than 2. Denmarks fat tax fiasco institute of economic affairs. Eu commission launches inquiry into danish fat tax. Unless and until more data emerge, the effectiveness of the worlds first fat tax will have been buried under its own controversy. Denmarks saturatedfat tax is going into effect oct. The danish government is applying a surcharge to foods with more than 2. Denmark scraps its infamous fat tax after only one year. Denmark to scrap worlds first fat tax medical xpress.
Denmark has a long history with taxing unhealthier foods. Denmarks failed fat tax experiment canadian taxpayers federation. From public documents, we have assembled a list of food taxes currently being enforced, or. New iea research finds fat taxes would hit the poorest the hardest.
Denmark has imposed a fat tax on fatty foods in an effort to convince danes to eat healthier. What links here related changes upload file special pages permanent link. Denmark is the first country to introduce a fat tax on foods with high saturated fat content. Denmark said saturday it would 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. Need a ollowing denmarks introduction of a fat tax, eloise king asks he nutrition experts whether australia should adopt one too n denmark introduced the worlds first fat tax last month, the australian medical association ama ran an online poll asking. Taxation in denmark consists of a comprehensive system of direct and indirect taxes.
Denmarks so called fat tax on foods high in saturated fats has been repealed by the danish parliament only one year after being introduced. Denmark cancels fat tax and shelves sugar tax because of threat. Introduction this briefing note looks at the potential for the introduction of a fat tax into the uk in an effort to reduce the growing prevalence of obesity in britain. Iea current controversies papers are designed to promote discussion on economic issues and the role of markets in. As denmark becomes the first country in the world to introduce a tax on foods containing saturated fat, a public health expert tells channel 4 news the uk. Small taxes on soft drinks and snack foods to promote health pdf. The failure of denmark to maintain their saturated fat tax for more than 15 months shows the challenges of implementing health related food taxes. The danish government announced saturday it would abolish the fat tax as part of budget negotiations there.
One possibility is to tax the nutrient contents of foods such that those containing more fat or salt, for example, are taxed more heavily. Denmark has taxed saturated fats since october 2011, and the experiment has been a failure. Why it did not survive article pdf available in european journal of clinical nutrition 692 october 2014 with 1,493 reads how we measure reads. Denmark saturday became the first country in the world to impose a fat tax after a week in which consumers hoarded butter, pizza, meat and milk to avoid the immediate effects. Food taxes and their impact on competitiveness in the agrifood. The worlds first fat tax will soon also be the first to be abolished. Mike rayner and oliver mytton, british heart foundation health promotion research group. Denmark thrives despite high taxes denmark has the highest income taxes in the world, but it also enjoys low unemployment and steady economic growth. A fat tax is a tax or surcharge that is placed upon fattening food, beverages or on overweight individuals. Denmark, finland, france, hungary, mexico, the navajo nation, and the city of berkeley. The fat tax and nutrition taxes in denmark the danish fat tax was presented as part of a tax reform package in 2009.
Denmark cancels fat tax and shelves sugar tax because of threat of job losses. Fat tax in denmark is repealed after criticism the new. Denmark scraps worlds first fat tax the washington post. Revenue statistics 2019 denmark taxtogdp ratio over time taxtogdp ratio compared to the oecd, 2018 in the oecd classification the term taxes is confined to compulsory unrequited payments to general government. The publication is an introduction to the danish tax system intended for newcomers to denmark and nondanish speakers who are not yet familiar with the system. Among those are fat taxes which are discriminatory taxes charged on. This means that the higher your income, the more taxes you have to pay.
In october 2011, denmark implemented a tax on saturated fats. Denmarks government has confirmed its plans to scrap a tax implemented on saturated fats in foods, less than a year after bringing in the policy. This briefing note looks at the potential for the introduction of a fat tax into the uk in an effort to reduce the growing prevalence of obesity in britain. City clock magazine the world health organisation released a report last month calling for governments around the world to introduce a tax on sugary drinks, and referred in glowing terms to denmarks fat tax. Denmark admits its fat tax failure adam smith institute. In many other countries citizens pay less tax than in denmark, but in return they have to pay to go to school, to the hospital, the doctors, etc.
This follows introduction of a fat tax in denmark at the beginning of october, and a junk food tax in hungary in september. Today various personal and corporate income taxes yield around two thirds of the total danish tax revenues, indirect taxes being responsible for the last third. In 2011 denmark introduced a tax on saturated fat in food products, the first country in the world to do so. The berkeley effect may be due to price competition from neighbouring areas which do not have a soda tax.
The controversial tax, designed to improve the health of danes by discouraging consumption of fatty foods, was opposed by farmers and food companies and was unpopular among consumers. In theory, the workings of the fat tax are displayed in the following graph. Food taxes and their impact on competitiveness in the agrifood sector. Evy mages for the washington post the fat tax and the extension of the chocolate tax, the socalled sugar tax.
Whether these amounts will discourage purchases remains to be seen. Your donations support and help insure blacklisted newss continued future and success. To date, the only other scientific study examining the danish fat tax jensen and smed, 20 found that the sale of butter, butter blends, margarine and oils decreased by 1015% during the first nine months of the fat tax. A fat tax is a tax or surcharge that is placed upon fattening food, beverages or on overweight. Modelling the effect of the changes in diet on health outcomes suggests that the saturated fat tax made a positive, but minor, contribution to public health in denmark. Denmark led the way on taxing unhealthy products, but has since rowed back. A proposed sugar tax that was meant to be introduced in 20 has also been. Why fat taxes wont make us thin journal of public health oxford. Body blow for butterloving danes as fat tax kicks in. And earlier this week, with just a little more fanfare, denmark instituted an excise tax on foods high in saturated fat. Similarly, a fat tax is a tax applied to foods containing a specified level of fat, or a certain kind of fat, in order to reduce health and economic problems produced by the overconsumption of these foods. Denmark has its own minister of taxation, ministry of taxation and its own taxation laws. Denmark has decided to abolish its fat tax after barely a year, citing too many negative side effects hitting businesses. The objective of the present paper is to investigate the effects of the tax on consumers intake of saturated fat within three different types of food product group.
Need a ollowing denmark s introduction of a fat tax, eloise king asks he nutrition experts whether australia should adopt one too n denmark introduced the worlds first fat tax last month, the australian medical association ama ran an online poll asking. 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. The tax is a complex one, in which rates will correspond. The danish government has said it intends to abolish a tax on foods which are high in. The best in uncensored news, information, and analysis. On denmarks fat tax food politics by marion nestle. The effects of the danish saturated fat tax on food and. Effects of the danish saturated fat tax on the demand for. Donald marron, maeve gearing, and john iselin december 2015 donald marron is director of economic policy initiatives and institute fellow at the urban institute, maeve gearing is a research associate at the urban institute, and john iselin is a research assistant at the urbanbrookings tax policy center. The danish fat tax had an insignificant or small negative effect on the price for low and. The policy was abandoned a mere fifteen months later amid a fierce public backlash and disappointing. In denmark, finland and france, taxes on sweet foods, fat and sugary drinks have typically been associated with price rises that were higher than expected given the rate of tax ecsip 2014. A fat tax aims to discourage unhealthy diets and offset the economic costs of obesity. In a country known for butter and bacon, denmarks new tax is a body blow.
Denmarks food taxes a fat chance europe the economist. For each store, monthly records of sales volume and sales revenue, as well as. 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. The danish fat taxeffects on consumption patterns and. Since early october when denmark introduced its tax on foods containing more than 2. Danes are worried that the tax has increased food bills which was the point of the tax. Danes will now face higher income taxes to make up for the loss of the fat tax. In denmark, the fat tax was portrayed as a classic pigouvian tax designed to discourage unhealthy eating habits and help pay.
Denmark cancels fat tax and shelves sugar tax because. Other countries are playing me too or waiting to see the results of denmarks experiment. Denmarks experiences with its fat tax illustrate many of the unintended consequences of tax initiatives aimed at nudging consumers toward healthier diets. Meanwhile, hungary is proposing a new tax on foods with too much sugar, salt or fat, while increasing taxes on liquor and soft. Denmarks tax received very little input from public health professionals during its formulation, while the food industry had substantial influence on the design and revision of the policy. The fat tax is 16 kroner per kilogram of saturated fat.
338 1074 790 1344 143 1186 359 1385 1163 338 1486 51 65 479 643 805 810 848 1042 932 1238 944 1415 643 483 399 1038 310 487 409 1507 1287 896 125 830 14 385 1031 329 1430 1487 1247 703 345 489 110 752