Unfair with sugar tax – Mariestads-Tidningen

The soda tax creates problems instead of solving them. The experience of other countries suggests that the positive effects risk disappearing, while the negative effects are increasing.

In a feature on Sweden’s radio, it was reported that more and more people are losing their health depending on their eating habits. To solve the problem, the Swedish Food Agency is proposing a higher tax on soft drinks and other sweetened beverages. The proposal is not unique, new or useful. This has been tried before with very poor results.

A functioning tax system requires taxpayers to have confidence in the system. If taxpayers feel less confident in the system, their willingness to pay decreases, leading to fraud. To maintain a high level of legitimacy, taxes must be well motivated and effective. A soda line is not well-motivated or effective.

The ambition to improve public health is legitimate, but not sufficient justification for introducing a sugar tax. Previous attempts to tax harmful foods have not achieved their goals. In 2009, Denmark introduced fat and sugar taxes, resulting in continued sugar consumption but instead of buying sweets in Denmark, Danes shopped in Sweden and Germany. Apart from the fact that the tax did not have the desired effect in the form of reduced consumption, it brought about a series of negative consequences. Every fourth piece of candy sold in Denmark was tax-free after the tax was introduced. Old candy was rebranded and fake candy was used, which took up a lot of police resources. The Danish experiment ended with tax abolition.

The UK has introduced a tax based on the amount of sugar in soft drinks. Estimates show that the sugar content of soft drinks has decreased as a result of the tariff, but total sugar intake has not been affected and childhood obesity, on the contrary, has increased. In Catalonia, a tax similar to that in Great Britain was introduced, and even there, evaluations show that the positive effects are not materializing.

A sugar tax is not only for practical reasons. The possible introduction of a tax should be discussed in principle. Is it really the job of government and politicians to prevent citizens from doing anything harmful? Or should free individuals be free to make their own decisions? We think the question is answered: free citizens should be considered capable of making decisions about their own caloric intake, even if it does not benefit their health.

Swedish sugar and soda taxes are not fair. It often does not have the intended effect and is not legal. Swedish police are already hard-pressed by a very serious crime trend, and if resources are diverted to chasing illegal soft drink sales, they will rarely be able to combat organized crime.

Christian Ekstrom

CEO, taxpayers

Eric Bengtsbo

Chief Economist, Taxpayers