Fat tax for UK
20 April 2012 – A leading education professional is pushing for a fat tax to be introduced to the UK.
Several countries already impose taxes on unhealthy food. In September, Hungary became the first country to introduce a fat tax on fatty food, including chocolate bars, with Denmark closely following suit. Introducing a similar policy to the UK would raise money for the economy and also get people eating healthier foods.
"We’re in the grip of an obesity crisis. As a nation we’re consuming too many calories and eating too much cheap, energy dense food, like crisps, chocolate bars or fizzy drinks," says Mike Rayner from the University of Oxford.
In the UK, taxes are already in place to discourage people from drinking or smoking. Rayner would like such taxes to be in place for all unhealthy foods.
Rayner believes, “We need to rethink the way we apply VAT to food. At the moment we have a muddled system: you do pay tax on some relatively-healthy things like smoothies, but you don’t pay it on a lot of junk food like chips or doughnuts.
"I don’t care whether it’s hot or cold, whether you got it from a takeaway or a shop – I’d like us to tax all unhealthy foods from butter to biscuits. And in doing so we can tackle a problem that will only keep expanding.”
MPs who oppose the idea believe that educating consumers about the potential health risks of eating such foods and improving the labelling of products are more practical options.
Despite Tony Blair ruling out the idea of a fat tax in 2004, David Cameron has said the idea shouldn’t be ruled out.
Imposing a fat tax has many potential implications for confectionery companies, particularly those that manufacture chocolate.
Martin Turton, manager of the Food and Drink Federation’s (FDF) Biscuit, Cake, Chocolate and Confectionery (BCCC) sector group says, “Chocolate and sugar confectionery are already subject to VAT at the standard rate of 20% and plans to further tax food will be felt hardest by those families who can least afford higher food prices.
“The confectionery industry is already playing a key role in the drive to reduce obesity and improve public health.
“Our members invest in clear and informative on-pack labelling, responsible advertising and marketing and healthy lifestyle education initiatives. They have also been working hard to reformulate their products and to provide choice through ‘low in’ products.
“Complex problems like obesity require a wide range of interventions and the involvement of many interested parties to drive real changes in behaviour – not just more tax.”
