Wednesday, 18 September 2013 - 03:52
Holes in budget closed with soda
Almost no one knows, but for years holes in the budget were plugged with a can of coke or a glass of orange. The government even taxes mineral water. Not everyone is happy about it, not even in The Hague.Taxing unhealthy or polluting products sounds logical to most people. Yet in 1972 a duty was introduced on nonalcoholic beverages like soda, lemonade, fruit juice and mineral water.
Brussels rules almost put an end to that in 1993. The introduction of the European market prevented tax on nonalcoholic products. However The Netherlands did not want to abolish the duty, so it renamed it consumption tax instead. By the end of the 20th century the consumer paid 0.20 eurocents tax per Liter of soda.
In 2002, the House agreed to a reduction in the disguised excise . Since then we pay 5.5 cents per liter soft drink tax.
soda
stevendepolo
Flickr The 2012 fiscal plan contained a bill in which the government called for the abolition of the tax. In practice, the charge led to many questions and discussions about why lemonades and fruit juices were taxed, and milk for example, was not. The consumption tax would lapse from the beginning of this year. But the moment was not convenient, probably because of the crisis. At the end of 2012 it was decided to abolish the consumption tax at a later time. Now it seems that the tax will continue to exist for now and even go up a few cents, for the first time since 2002. The government's budget plans show an increase in excise tax on, among others drinks, including those on soda. According to Algemeen Dagblad consumption tax would go up a few cents on a bottle of orange soda or cola. On the other hand, the excise duty on tobacco remains the same. That is again a surprising twist, and not indicative of early elimination. The government has probably read the National Soft Drink Research from 2011. It states two-thirds of the Dutch do not know the government imposes a tax on soda.
stevendepolo
Flickr The 2012 fiscal plan contained a bill in which the government called for the abolition of the tax. In practice, the charge led to many questions and discussions about why lemonades and fruit juices were taxed, and milk for example, was not. The consumption tax would lapse from the beginning of this year. But the moment was not convenient, probably because of the crisis. At the end of 2012 it was decided to abolish the consumption tax at a later time. Now it seems that the tax will continue to exist for now and even go up a few cents, for the first time since 2002. The government's budget plans show an increase in excise tax on, among others drinks, including those on soda. According to Algemeen Dagblad consumption tax would go up a few cents on a bottle of orange soda or cola. On the other hand, the excise duty on tobacco remains the same. That is again a surprising twist, and not indicative of early elimination. The government has probably read the National Soft Drink Research from 2011. It states two-thirds of the Dutch do not know the government imposes a tax on soda.
