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. The official aim of this reform was to replace part of denmarks relatively high income tax, with marginal rates varying from 42. The government of denmark main aim was to increase the prices of fast food by increasing the legal price floor, and the minimum price sellers can sell their fast food products for hoping this would reduce the demand and shift the demand curve to the left. Denmark has become the first country in the world to introduce a tax on foods seen as being harmful to health. This study modelled the impacts of a revenueneutral policy in which a tax based on saturated fat content is combined with a subsidy on fruit and vegetables. The failure of denmark s fat tax was also due to financial reasons, with politicians identifying the fat tax as a funding source for the government, rather than a health initiative that attempted to improve the health outcomes of society. A public health food tax on packaged products with high sugar, saturated fat or salt levels was introduced in september 2011 in hungary and a tax on saturated fats was introduced in october 2011 in denmark. Ana kasparian and cenk uygur discuss on the young turks. Danes will now face higher income taxes to make up for the loss of the fat tax. 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.
Denmark scraps its infamous fat tax after only one year denmark has decided to abolish its fat tax after barely a year, citing too many negative side effects hitting businesses. Nov, 2012 citing a harmful effect on businesses and consumer buying power, lawmakers in denmark have repealed the socalled fat tax, which was charged on foods high in saturated fats, after just one year.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 dollars, the taxes will add 12 cents to a bag of crisps and 40 cents to the price of a burger. Other countries are playing me too or waiting to see the results of denmarks experiment. It is essential that americans planning to reside or living in denmark understand the key tax issues in the usa and denmark. Denmark began taxing soft drinks and juices in the 1930s.
A related idea is to tax foods that are linked to increased risk of. Denmark scraps worlds first fat tax the washington post. Nov 11, 2012 denmark to scrap worlds first fat tax denmark s government has confirmed its plans to scrap a tax implemented on saturated fats in foods, less than a year after bringing in the policy. Denmark to scrap worlds first fat tax abc news australian.
The effects of the danish saturated fat tax on food and. There will be an extra charge on items that contain more than 2. The economic effects of the fat tax were almost invariably negative. After being voted for by an overwhelming majority of mps, the tax on saturated fat led to inflation, crossborder shopping, job losses and. Denmark introduced a tax on saturated fat in food products with effect from. The danish government rescinds its unwieldy fat tax. Nov 11, 2012 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. 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. What the world can learn from denmarks failed fat tax. Denmark scraps its infamous fat tax after only one year. A proposed sugar tax that was meant to be introduced in 20 has also been. Oct 07, 2011 denmark is the first country to introduce a fat tax on foods with high saturated fat content. A fat tax is a tax or surcharge that is placed upon fattening food, beverages or on overweight individuals.
Denmark has decided to abolish its fat tax after barely a year, citing too many negative side effects hitting businesses. The government also wants to improve life expectancy and the health of the danish people. The fat tax had a very limited impact on the consumption of. Oct 01, 2011 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. Nov 10, 2012 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 danes eating habits. However a similar uk study that modelled the potential health outcomes of four healthrelated food tax and subsidy regimens for the uk reported that two taxation scenarios a saturated fat tax and a tax on less healthy foods as defined by a nutrient profiling modelboth 17. The danish government introduced a fat tax surcharge on foods containing more than 2.
Denmarks lawmakers thought they had a winwin through a tax on food with more than 2. Nov 10, 2012 the measure, introduced a little over a year ago, was believed to be the worlds first socalled fat tax. These kinds of studies may provide the most convincing. For the fat tax scenario, we assumed the tax would have the same effect that it had in denmark. Oct 02, 2011 danes who go shopping today will pay an extra 25p on a pack of butter and 8p on a packet of crisps, as the new tax on foods which contain more than 2. Substituting polyunsaturated fat for saturated fat. This initiative to combat heart disease and obesity came despite the fact that only.
Other measures under way include plans by romania, finland, and the united kingdom to initiate a fat tax and perus plan to tax junk food 50, 51, 52. Oct 10, 2011 the danish government has introduced a new tax based on the fat content of food denmark has imposed a fat tax on fatty foods in an effort to convince danes to eat healthier. The danish tax on saturated fat the tax on saturated fat was part of a larger tax reform taking place in denmark in 2010. After being voted for by an overwhelming majority of mps, the tax on saturated fat led to the short tale of denmark s fat tax can be easily told.
It pushed danes to shop in other countries for fattier foods. With effect from october 2011 denmark was the first country to introduce a tax on saturated fat. Denmark has introduced a fat tax in order to fight obesity and to combat heart disease and diabetes. Those already implemented include the us tax on sweetened drinks, denmark s fat tax, hungarys junk food tax, and frances tax on sweetened drinks. Many danes switched to cheaper brands or went over the border to sweden and germany to do their shopping. The objective of this paper is to make an effect assessment of this tax for some of the product categories most. Aug 26, 2015 in 2011 denmark introduced a tax on saturated fat in food products, the first country in the world to do so. Taxation in denmark consists of a comprehensive system of direct and indirect taxes. Whether these amounts will discourage purchases remains to be seen. The danish fat taxeffects on consumption patterns and risk. Learning english words in the news denmarks fat tax.
The overall aim of this reform was to reduce the pressure of income taxation rates for all people actively participating in the labour market and to finance this by, among other things, increased. This means that the higher your income, the more taxes you have to pay. Denmark admits its fat tax failure adam smith institute. Fat tax introduced in denmark australian food history timeline. More recently, finland reintroduced an earlier soft drink tax in 2011, while hungary taxes sugary drinks as part of its 2011 public health product tax, which covers all food products with unhealthy levels of sugar. We aim to analyse the effects of the danish fat tax on the consumption of two. Denmarks fat tax remains the leading example of an ambitious. Fat taxes have become part of the policy response to obesity in a number of countries. Denmarks fat tax was a failure but revisionists are. At a national level, similar measures have also been. In 2011 denmark introduced a tax on saturated fat in food products, the first country in the world to do so.
Denmarks fat tax fiasco institute of economic affairs. Jan 20, 2016 denmark has one of the highest tax rates in the world, which is often mentioned as one of the biggest objections against the danish welfare model. 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. Denmark has taxed saturated fats since october 2011, and the experiment has been a failure. Nov 12, 2012 the worlds first fat tax will soon also be the first to be abolished. In 2011, the danish parliament decided to introduce a tax on saturated fat in foods. 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.
Butter, potato chips, ground beef and pork are among the products that are to be taxed. The rise and fall of the danish fat tax academy of social sciences. Apr, 2016 the effects of the danish saturated fat tax on food and nutrient intake and modelled health outcomes. The declared aim of the tax is to reduce the consumption of saturated fat among the danish population in order to decrease the prevalence of diet. Tax on four product groups accounted for 90% of the total phpt revenue and, in 2014, for half the total revenue generated on prepackaged sugarsweetened products, 16%. 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.
Pdf obesity, fat taxes and their effects on consumers. Today various personal and corporate income taxes yield around two thirds of the total danish tax revenues. The scientific case for denmark s fat tax was made by the countrys prevention commission, which claimed that the policy would give danes an extra 3,800 years of life or, more prosaically, an extra five and a half days per person. Assessment of the impact of a public health product tax. On denmarks fat tax food politics by marion nestle. 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 danish government will introduce a tax of 16 dkk around. In this context, denmarks fat tax can offer valuable evidence despite the fact that it was only in effect for 15 months. Denmark has its own minister of taxation, ministry of taxation and its own taxation laws. Denmarks food taxes a fat chance europe the economist. A fat tax aims to discourage unhealthy diets and offset the economic costs of obesity a fat tax aims to decrease the consumption of foods that are linked to obesity. The effects of the danish saturated fat tax on food and nutrient intake and modelled health outcomes. The fat tax is 16 kroner per kilogram of saturated fat. 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.
If an expat living in denmark does qualify they will need to file a completed form 8938 with along with their us tax return. France introduced a targeted sugar tax on soft drinks in 2012. For example a tax on saturated fat was imposed in denmark in 2011 and then later removed in 2012. The graph explanation the fat tax was introduced on october 2011 by denmark to limit the number of fatty foods the people of denmark intake. Effects of the danish saturated fat tax on the demand for. This article appeared in the europe section of the print edition under the headline a fat chance. Effects of healthrelated food taxes and subsidies on. 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. Oct 04, 2011 and earlier this week, with just a little more fanfare, denmark instituted an excise tax on foods high in saturated fat. What the world can learn from denmarks failed fat tax the. Fat tax in denmark is repealed after criticism the new. Therefore, we derived the age and sexspecific sfa consumption change that was observed in denmark after the introduction of a fat tax 41, corresponding to a sfa intake reduction ranging from 0. Nov, 2012 denmark will repeal its fat tax after it showed an unintended consequence.