VAT on FAT?

VAT on FAT?

Is a fat tax a legitimate move against obesity? Do you think it will work in Dubai?

October 2, 2011 3:18 by shafeer

The big fat world in which we live in, is home to supermarkets stocked with many a fatty treats soaked in trans-fatty fatness. The big fat world in which we live in, is also home to many a warnings about our big fatness, in the form of Super Size Me-like documentaries and special walks determined to champion the battle of the bulge. And though the warnings have been significantly increasing as the average waist line increases, very little has been done on a practical level to stop consumers from consuming so much fat.

Cue Denmark’s first fat tax.

Yes, you heard it right: from this week on Denmark has become the first country in the world to tax people who buy products containing saturated fats, like butter and milk, pizzas, oils, meats and pre-cooked foods.

The particulars? How does an extra 16 kroner (roughly Dh11) per kilo of saturated fats in a product, sound? Probably like a whole lot of money.

Of course, the move has seen an expected backlash from those wishing to avoid the extra charges: “We have had to stock up with tonnes of butter and margarine in order to be able to supply outlets,” Soeren Joergensen of Arla Distribution said.

Now, not that it is the same thing, but Kipp’s seen the same kind of reaction here in the Emirates to rising fuel prices. People hoard on petrol before prices are to rise; they then promise themselves they aren’t going to unnecessarily use their cars. The resolve stays firm for a week and then they go back to absorbing the increasing prices like nothing ever changed.

We have a feeling that this FAT tax for its part will be met with a similar sort of attitude. Initial apprehension and later acceptance…do you?