The news broke this Wednesday, October 11, 2017: the deputies of La République en Marche (LREM) want to increase the taxes on strong alcohols and sugary sodas.
The rapporteur of the bill, Olivier Véran (who is also a member of the LREM majority) considers that “the existing taxes [sur ces produits] are low, with an impact that remains to be assessed ”.
This Wednesday, October 11, 2017, on the occasion of the hearing of ministers Agnès Buzyn and Gérald Darmanin in the Committee on Social Affairs, Olivier Véran notably took the example of a mini-bottle of alcohol-free mojito, containing 13 grams of sugar for 100 milliliters, which is equivalent to 5 lumps of sugar, “with the same level of taxation as sodas containing 4 or 5 grams of sugar per 100 milliliters”.
A measure that would bring in 150 million euros each year
As for alcohol, only alcoholic beverages over 15 degrees would be affected by this measure: if wine and beer fall between the cracks (ditto for cider and champagne), whiskey, rum, pastis or cognac would be likely to cost consumers (even) more.
A measure that aims to fight against obesity and diabetes (which respectively affect 6.5 million and 3.5 million adults in France), yes, but not only: this decision could also bring in 150 million euros to the State each year in the event of a tax increase of + 10%.
The Minister of Health Agnès Buzyn is not fully convinced: for her, targeting sugary drinks would amount to “taxing the poorest”. She thus evokes other methods of prevention such as “health education or parenthood education”.
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