Fatties beware, if you are planning to travel to Denmark, you better make sure you have saved your money. The European country has just imposed what has been termed a “sin tax” on foods that are high in saturated fats. Foods like hamburgers, butter, sausage and oils with a saturated fat content higher than 2.3 percent are now being held to a fat tax which will raise the price.
The price is set to increase at $1.29 USD per pound, or $2.90 per kilogram (2.2 lbs.), according to the Los Angeles Times. The price increase will take into account how much saturated fat is used in the manufacturing of an item, not in how much fat the final product contains. The government has imposed the tax hoping that it will reduce obesity and heart disease. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has also stated that they believe the tax will also increase life expectancy by three years over the next decade, according to the LA Times.
The current government has been labeled by The Associated Press as “conservative,” and this was just one of many sin taxes the prior health minister, Jakob Axel Nielsen proposed. Other items that have incurred tax hikes are ice cream, chocolate and sweets, with consumers being charged an extra 25 percent in July of 2010. According to ABC news reporter Olivia Katrandijan, Denmark has also raised taxes on tobacco, alcohol and soft drinks above the European Union-established minimum levels. Denmark has also banned the use of trans fat and products that contain it.
While the government has increased the price of these foods, Denmark is not considered a country with a high obesity rate. According to a National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, only “10 percent of Danes are considered obese, compared to about one-third of adults (33.8 percent) and approximately 17 percent (or 12.5 million) of children and adolescents age 2—19 years in the United States.”
While Denmark is the first country to impose a fat tax, other European nations are said to be considering the increase in prices of certain foods. The increase has not caused widespread complaints by Danish people, but some are not very happy about what the new laws mean for freedom.
ABC news spoke with Alisa Clausen, a South Jutland resident, “Denmark finds every sort of way to increase our taxes. Why should the government decide how much fat we eat? They also want to increase the tobacco price very significantly. In theory this is good — it makes unhealthy items expensive so that we do not consume as much or any and that way the health system doesn’t use a lot of money on patients who become sick from overuse of fat and tobacco. However, these taxes take on a big brother feeling. We should not be punished by taxes on items the government decides we should not use.”
I believe that the fat tax is ingenious, and I hope that the United States takes a long look at the newly imposed taxes by the Danish government. We as a nation are fat, and something like this would do one of two things for our country: 1). It would cause a huge reduction in American’s average weight, which would be good since I don’t appreciate the negative stereotype that we are all fat, stupid, loud assholes.
While I may be stupid, loud and an a-hole, I am definitely NOT fat, and eliminating one of four sounds good to me. If the fat tax doesn’t help Americans slim down then 2). It will be a good source of revenue for the United States.
We all know the US can’t afford to operate its own government, which has been entangled in two separate conflicts for almost the last decade.
Two wars combined with countless national crises like Katrina in 2004 and the 2008 collapse of the housing markets have put our country in a crater of debt, primarily with our largest rival, China.
If Americans can’t stop shoving McBurgers in their chubby, loud mouths, then at least we will be able to start paying China back, who I think are going to start calling for their tab soon. Does the United States of China have a nice ring to it?
On the more serious side, I feel that the country would benefit from taxes like this. I consume a lot of oils and butter, which I use a lot of when I cook, but I feel that the country could use the extra money at this point in time. A tax like this would definitely force me to be more health conscience, and when I break down, which would probably be often, then I will donate money to the United States of America.
I believe that the increase would result in both health and fiscal benefits for our country, and although I am not rich by any means, I feel that with the mountain of debt we as a country find ourselves in it is every one’s responsibility to repay. I’m not sure about you, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to let my parents run up the check and then stiff me with the bill.
The US should consider this increase seriously, as well as the higher taxes on large corporations the talking heads on TV are always cackling about. I feel like this tax makes the most sense, because ultimately I will benefit from it too.
I hate spending money and a fat tax would force me to eat healthier. This is one of the few taxes that actually helps the people paying it, so we should think about it.
David Adams can be reached at dadams@spartans.ut.edu