State-of-the-Art for Food Taxes to Promote Public Health
2018
This paper reviewed existing applications of fiscal instruments in nutrition policy and derives some perspectives and recommendations from the experiences gained with these instruments.
Many countries in different parts of the world have experiences with the taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages, in some cases in combination with taxes on unhealthy food commodities such as confectionery or high-fat foods. These tax schemes have many similarities, but also differ in their definitions of tax objects and in the applied tax rates.
Most of the existing food tax schemes have been introduced from fiscal motivations, with health promotion as a secondary objective. The diversity in experiences from existing tax schemes provides insights for designing effective and efficient tax or subsidy instruments, and implementing politically viable instruments.
State-of-the-Art for Food Taxes to Promote Public Health
Source:
Jensen JD, Smed S. State-of-the-Art for Food Taxes to Promote Public Health. The Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 2018; 77 (2): 100-105. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0029665117004050