As about half of the French population is currently overweight or obese, France has outlined a plan to raise VAT on fast food from 5.5 to 20 %.
28 billion euro in health care costs
Food that contains a lot of fat but offers very low nutritional value is now the target of a possible tax rise. Fast food is becoming increasingly popular in France: about 15 % of the population has obesity issues, while another 32 % is overweight. All in all, the French health care system loses about 28 billion euro every year to handle these issues, a sum equal to 1 % of the country’s gross national product.
If the proposal becomes law, then the value added tax on fast food may increase from 5.5 to 20 %. The proposal states that the tax increase should be significant in order to have an actual effect on consumers’ behaviour. Aside from the increase, marketing campaigns have to make people aware about the damaging effects of fast food and their relation to obesity issues.
France already has a sugar tax for soda and energy drinks, which brings in about 400 million euro every year.
