World's First Fat Tax

[Boges]

COPENHAGEN — 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.

"We have had to stock up with tonnes of butter and margarine in order to be able to supply outlets," Soeren Joergensen of Arla Distribution told AFP.

The new tax, designed by Denmark's outgoing government as a health issue to limit the population's intake of fatty foods, will add 16 kroner ($2.87) per kilo of saturated fats in a product.

This means an increase in the price of a pack of 250 grammes of butter, for example, by 2.20 kroner to more than 18 kroner.

"It has been a chaotic week with a lot of empty shelves. People have been filling their freezers," Christian Jensen of an independent local Copenhagen supermarket told AFP.

"But actually I don't think the tax will make that much difference. If people want to buy a cake, they will buy it. But right now they're saving money," he added.

The new tax will be levied on all products including saturated fats — from butter and milk to pizzas, oils, meats and pre-cooked foods — in a costing system that Denmark's Confederation of Industries (DI) says is a bureaucratic nightmare for producers and outlets.

"The way that this has been put together is an administrative nightmare, and I doubt whether it will give better health. It's more just a tax," DI foodstuffs spokeswoman Gitte Hestehave told AFP, adding that the costs of levying the tax would be passed on to consumers.

Hestehave said that setting prices on domestically produced or imported goods was complicated, as it required declarations from producers both as to how much saturated fat was in the product itself, and used in its preparation.

Computer systems all had to be adjusted, adding many man-hours to administrative tasks for producers and sellers.

"Products that include other products that include saturated fats also have to have new prices worked out. Imported goods require a declaration from the producers abroad on exactly how much saturated fat has been used in production," Hestehave said.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Denmark+levies+world+first/5488375/story.html#ixzz1a7s1NRl4

Says nothing about Carbs or refined sugars. They're taxing all forms of proteins.

It'll end up just being a tax on the poor. Lean proteins are more expensive. I bet they won't lower the price of healthier foods.

Totally wrong-head approach if you ask me. Won't ever happen in North American, I don't think.

[msj]

Says nothing about Carbs or refined sugars. They're taxing all forms of proteins.

That's because the article clearly states that it is a tax levied on saturated fats.

Most forms of protein contain saturated fat so it's not a surprise that they would be hit by this tax while, say, cotton candy wouldn't be hit much, if at all (cotton candy is mostly air, right?).

It'll end up just being a tax on the poor. Lean proteins are more expensive. I bet they won't lower the price of healthier foods.

I imagine lean proteins would have a smaller component than fat proteins since the tax is applied on a basis of how much saturated fat is in the product.

Totally wrong-head approach if you ask me. Won't ever happen in North American, I don't think.

Agreed. It appears too complicated with too much room for abuse.

[TimG]

Agreed. It appears too complicated with too much room for abuse.

Not just abuse. Unintended consequences. Non-fat yogurt is packed with corn syrup and other refined sugars. You would be much better off if you ate full fat plain yogurt.

[Topaz]

Saturated fats are meat, dairy,eggs and seafood,or animal and there are also plants which are coconut oil palm, oil palm kernel oil. There's also trans fats which are man-made for packaging process foods for a longer shelf life. These are packaged foods fried processed foods, microwaved popcorn, veg.shortening and hard stick margarine. Now knowing all this, the tax would bring in billions of dollars and it doesn't hurt the companies that produce them, until consumers quit buying. Many reasons that most people are fat is what is actually in some of the foods we do eat. Soft drinks are the worse for gaining weight and if consumers were educated more on healthy foods, then we wouldn't have over weight people, except the ones that don't care.

[Bob]

Says nothing about Carbs or refined sugars. They're taxing all forms of proteins.

It'll end up just being a tax on the poor. Lean proteins are more expensive. I bet they won't lower the price of healthier foods.

Totally wrong-head approach if you ask me. Won't ever happen in North American, I don't think.

Of course it's an idiotic idea, and it will accomplish nothing. As usual, it's from the left. If you want to punish irresponsible behaviour, just tax people who are overweight, since they are more likely to cost the public health system more. It's that simple.