Denmark prioritizes jobs over health by nixing `fat tax`

"Health is important but the economy and jobs are more important."

One year after being the first country to introduce a tax on high-fat food, the Danish government on Saturday announced it would abolish the tax, according to foreign media including AFP. Copenhagen also decided to scrap a plan to tax sugar products.

The center-left coalition government led by the Social Democratic Party reached its conclusion after holding negotiations with the opposition to settle next year’s budget. Denmark’s obesity tax grabbed global attention but later became a scapegoat for inflation and a shrinking job market just a year later.

From October last year, the previous right-wing government began to impose a tax of 16 krone (2.78 U.S. dollars) on every kilogram of saturated fat in high-fat food that contained 2.3 percent or more fat. Under this law, Danes had to pay 14.1 percent more for 250 grams of butter and 7.1 percent more for olive oil, which led to higher prices for other food items such as pizza, milk, vegetable oil, meat and prepared food.

The obesity tax also made going to Germany for grocery shopping a new norm for many Danes. Instead of decreasing the consumption of high-fat food, the tax contributed to a higher number of unemployed as grocery shops around border areas went out of business.

According to a report by the University of Copenhagen, the obesity tax did not help the nation eat better. The Danish meat industry is also planning legal action against the government over the tax.

taylor55@donga.com