Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Fats in the Line of Fire

French politicians want to more than triple the Value Added Tax on fast food:
A French official report has called for a new tax on sweet and fatty foods, sodas and alcohol in a bid to fight obesity, which already afflicts one in five French adults.

....According to Les Echos newspaper, it calls for the VAT sales tax rate to be lifted from 5.5 to 19.6 percent on all food stuffs considered "too rich, too sweet, too salty and which are not strictly necessary".

Pizzas, hamburgers and sandwiches would all be hit by the new rules, the paper said.

Excess weight and obesity are blamed for fuelling cardiovascular disease as well as certain types of cancer.

The authors also advocate raising the tax on alcohol because of its link to certain types of cancer.

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