The Netherlands. “Sugar tax” can replenish the government’s treasury by 1 billion euros

A tax on candy and other products containing excessive amounts of sugar would be “very effective” and could be quite profitable. This conclusion was reached by Ecorys, a leading European consulting company that conducted a study on behalf of the Dutch ministries of finance and health, the NL Times online publication reports.

A tax on foods with a sugar content of more than six percent could theoretically reduce the risk of developing diabetes and significantly increase life expectancy, experts concluded. In addition, hundreds of millions of euros will be saved on health care costs associated with sugar consumption.

At the same time, the introduction of the tax will also mean that people will live longer on average, which will lead to an increase in the cost of caring for elderly citizens. On the other hand, healthier lifestyles could increase labor productivity by reducing the number of applications for medical disability.

The researchers emphasized that the tax would bring about a billion euros to the government’s coffers.

However, according to their estimates, if the sugar tax is implemented improperly, it could lead to numerous lawsuits. Therefore, they propose a graduated taxation scheme for products containing six percent or more sugar, depending on how much the sugar content exceeds this threshold.

A decision on this issue will be made when the process of forming a new Cabinet of Ministers is completed, the publication reports.

Tags: sugar, Netherlands