Say no to taxes
20 July 2012 – Are taxes the government’s solution for everything? In the past couple of months I have read about pasty taxes and fat taxes, and now there is a proposal in Wales to introduce a 5p levy to chewing gum (http://www.sweetsandsnackseurope.com/news/5p-levy-for-chewing-gum/)
Imposing taxes 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.”
A spokesperson for Caobisco says, “Introducing a discriminatory tax would be an additional burden on business that may have consequences on the overall competitiveness of the food and drink sector, Europe’s largest manufacturing industry, at a time when governments are trying to promote growth, jobs and investment in their constituencies and more widely across Europe.
“Moreover we consider that these taxes will be difficult to manage and are likely to create distortions on the European markets, such as divergence between states, fragmentation of the Single Market, cross-border shopping and unfair competition.
“The discriminatory aspect of these taxes is also not a good incentive to trigger additional innovation as manufacturers are already making efforts and huge investments to develop and improve the healthy characteristics of their products.”
Both industry bodies are obviously against the introduction of taxes, and so am I. Adding a few pence to certain products would not discourage me from buying them.
Furthermore, if taxing foods is so successful why is Denmark considering reversing its decision to impose a tax on saturated fat in food and may also abandon plans to introduce a similar sugar tax.
