KrF wants to change the sugar tax

Coca-Cola Soft drink Sugar TaxCoca-Cola Bottle caps. Photo: Pixabay.com

KrF wants to change the sugar tax

The Christian Democrats (KrF) will demand a review of the sugar tax on beverages in the revised state budget.

 

This the party’s fiscal spokesperson Kjell Ingolf Ropstad confirms to VG.

– We want to target the tax better, where there will be a low tax on water with added taste and higher tax on soft drinks with high sugar content, says Ropstad.

He points out that such a differentiated tax has been introduced in the UK, Finland and Ireland.

– We are uncertain of the effects and will emphasize that tthe impact must be reviewed first. Ireland is an island without border trade and is not comparable. The problem is the high level of taxation and that all increases on different taxes over time combined, results in much higher border trade, says CEO in the Brewery and Beverage Association, Petter Nome.

Not good for anyone

In Sandefjord, the Hval chocolate factory has laid off third of its staff due to the sugar tax, says the Plant Manager, Rune Forsberg.

The turnover of the chocolate factory in Vestfold has decreased by 23 per cent, writes NRK.

– We have laid off 5 out of 14 employees and lost NOK 1 million since the New Year. In addition, the state has lost NOK 400,000 in taxes. It’s not good for anyone, says Forsberg to the state channel.

Gone too far

Forsberg does not think we eat less chocolate in Norway, but that we shop where the price is the lowest. He believes the tax has to be cut.

– Now politicians must understand that they have gone too far. In Finland, ESA says that they can not continue with such discriminatory taxes and therefore cuts it. That must be done here as well, he says.

Managing Director in NHO Food and Beverages,  Petter Haas Brubakk, agrees with Forsberg. Kårstein Løvaas (Conservatives) in the Nutrition Committee of the Parliament says the tax must be thoroughly reviewed to find a fairer solution.

 

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today