Sugar / Fat taxes in the news

Jeff Rogut
Another report has come out calling for taxes to be applied to soft drinks which it is claimed will ‘lead to reductions in consumption of sugar sweetened beverages’. Once again a tax, or the hand of government in our pockets is supposed to cure all ills, rather than education promoting personal responsibility.
Attached is a copy of a report into why Denmark’s fat tax was a fiasco and was scrapped. Interestingly, in May 2014, the spokesman of the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture mentioned in an article in Die Welt that: “Using punitive food and drinks taxes which generate political control of consumption and patronize the consumer, should be rejected.” Penalty taxes for supposedly unhealthy foods usually bring no change to the diets of individuals. The Ministry highlighted that: “In November 2012, the Danish Government abolished the fat tax which had been introduced a year earlier on the grounds that the tax did not change dietary behaviour.”
AACS urges these so called experts to take into account studies and experience when making broad, unproven claims about what taxes will achieve. What’s next – soft drinks sold from behind closed doors in plain packs?
Click Here to View the report into why Denmark’s fat tax was a fiasco and was scrapped