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Taxing food: implications for public health nutrition

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2007

Martin Caraher  and
Gill Cowburn
Martin Caraher*
Affiliation:
Department of Health Management and Food Policy, The Centre for Food Policy, Institute of Health Sciences, City University, Goswell Place, Northampton Square, London EC1 0HB, UK
Gill Cowburn
Affiliation:
BHF Health Promotion Research Group, Department of Public Health, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus, Headington, Oxford OX3 7LF, UK
*
*Corresponding author: Email m.caraher@city.ac.uk
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Abstract

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Aim

To set out a policy analysis of food taxes as a way of influencing food consumption and behaviour.

Design

The study draws on examples of food taxes from the developed world imposed at national and local levels. Studies were identified from a systemised search in six databases with criteria designed to identity articles of policy relevance.

Results

The dominant approach identified from the literature was the imposition of food taxes on food to raise general revenue, such as Value Added Tax in the European Union. Food taxes can be applied in various ways, ranging from attempts to directly influence behaviour to those which collect taxes for identified campaigns on healthy eating through to those applied within closed settings such as schools. There is a case for combining taxes of unhealthy foods with subsidies of healthy foods. The evidence from the literature concerning the use and impact of food taxes on food behaviour is not clear and those cases identified are mainly retrospective descriptions of the process. Many food taxes have been withdrawn after short periods of time due to industry lobbying.

Conclusions for policy

Small taxes with the clear purpose of promoting the health of key groups, e.g. children, are more likely to receive public support. The focus of many tax initiatives is unclear; although they are generally aimed at consumers, another focus could be food manufacturers, using taxes and subsidies to encourage the production of healthier foods, which could have an effect at a population level. Further consideration needs to be given to this aspect of food taxes. Taxing food (and subsidies) can influence food behaviour within closed systems such as schools and the workplace.

Keywords

Fat taxesFood taxesValue Added TaxFood behavioursPrice elasticitiesPricing policy
Type
Research Article
Information
Public Health Nutrition , Volume 8 , Issue 8 , December 2005 , pp. 1242 - 1249
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2005

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