Sugar Tax, the new (italian) sugar tax (but not for pastry).

Recently, there has been news (IN ITALY) of a new tax, the so-called SUGAR TAX.

The reasons given for this new tax were and are to combat obesity and diabetes by discouraging the consumption of sugary drinks or encouraging consumers (all of us) to make healthier choices or be more aware of their consumption. 

Let’s clarify immediately that this tax will not apply to sugar used in pastry, but rather to sugar or any other sweetener, whether natural or synthetic, present in soft drinks and fruit and/or vegetable and/or legume juices (without the addition of alcohol or with an alcohol content of 1.2% or less by volume).  

Article No. 1, paragraph 665 of the law sets the tax rate as follows: 

A) €10.00 per hectoliter for finished products; 

B) €0.25 per kilogram for products to be used after dilution. 

The application of this tax has been postponed several times due to an appeal filed with the Constitutional Court by the Lazio Regional Administrative Court (Tar), which had censured the Sugar Tax for violating the principle of tax equality (Articles 3 and 53 of the Constitution), as the new tax only targets certain non-alcoholic beverages and not other food products containing the same sweeteners.

With the ruling No. 49 on March 26 of this year, the Constitutional Court declared that the new tax is constitutional and aims to discourage people from consuming all those drinks "whose excessive use could lead to an increase in public spending, connected to the subsequent need to provide appropriate care through the National Health Service."  

It is worth noting that there is an exemption from the tax if the total sugar content (or sweeteners with an equivalent sweetness level) is less than or equal to:

1) 25g per liter for finished products;

2) 125g per kilogram for products to be used after dilution.

Article No. 1, paragraph 667 of the law stipulates that it will be an inter-ministerial decree from the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Health to define, for each sweetener, the hypothetical amount of sugar necessary to achieve the same level of sweetness.

Of course, the Italian Beverage Producers Association (Assobibe) has raised objections, stating that "to address multifactorial conditions such as overweight, obesity, and diabetes, integrated approaches are needed" and that "in countries where this tax has been introduced, no improvements have been recorded in the health of citizens." What is certain is that Assobibe fears a potential 16% contraction in sales (source: Adnkronos, https://www.adnkronos.com/.../sugar-tax-pierini-assobibe-affossa-le-imprese...).