What is a Fat Tax?

Fat tax is an additional tax on foods with a saturated fat content exceeding 2.3%.

Fat tax

Fat tax is an additional tax on foods with a saturated fat content exceeding 2.3%.

Chinese name

Fat tax

Foreign name

Fat tax

Including

Various flavors that are too salty, too sweet, and oily

Features

Reduced by poor diet structure

A well-planned "fat tax" campaign will reduce

It is reported that as early as 2004,

On October 1, 2011, Denmark officially began to levy taxes on foods containing fat, becoming the first country in the world to levy a fat tax ^[2]

Studies have shown that dietary changes caused by fat taxes can save up to 3,000 lives each year. Te Inbeck Larsson, Food Policy Manager at the Danish Chamber of Commerce, questioned the effectiveness of the new tax. "The new tax covers a lot of food, from milk to cheese and meat. In practice, I think the tax It is of little help to our health. According to the calculation of the CDC, a 10-year tax on fat will extend our life expectancy by 5.5 days. " ^[4]

Fresh vegetables and fruits in European countries are quite expensive and difficult for the poor, while biscuits, cakes, hamburgers, sweet drinks, etc. are quite cheap. At this time, trying to change dietary habits by adjusting the price ratio of food,

The question is, does raising taxes on unhealthy foods really be an effective way to change eating habits? This is difficult to answer in one sentence.

For example, in China, the situation of food prices is very different from that of Europe and the United States. Foods that Westerners consider unhealthy, such as sweet drinks, desserts, ice cream, hamburgers,

The idea of a fat tax angered food producers. They called on the public to stand up against this "nanny state" approach. "The move is worthy of discussion," said Julian Hunt of the British Food and Beverage Union. "Deductive tax policies like this only make consumers 'wallets heavier." He noted that food manufacturers' initiative to improve formulas and products would Bring more ideal results.

The British National Obesity Forum supports this approach and believes it can help reduce the incidence of coronary heart disease, stroke, obesity and diabetes. But in 2009, the British Medical Association rejected a proposal to impose a fat tax on chocolate with a slight advantage.