Denmark
The Fat Tax Act
Summary Description
Introduces a tax on saturated fat in food products, including dairy and meat products.
Topics
Species
Farmed animals
Jurisdiction
Denmark
Sub-Jurisdiction
N/A
Type of Act
Legislation
Status
Repealed
Legal Value
Binding
Date Enacted
2011
Date Updated
June, 2023
Official Citation
The Danish Act on Taxation of Saturated Fat in Certain Food Products, Law No 247 of 30 March 2011, 2011, (Denmark)
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
- The tax applied on a variety of meat and dairy products in which saturated fat exceeded 2.3%.
- The tax was set at DKK 16 per (€ 2.15) per kilogram of saturated fat, which represented a significant price increase in some cases. For instance, the price of a standard package of butter increased by 20%.
- The implementation of the Act relied on the food's nutritional label, which facilitated its implementation.
- The tax applied to imported food products.
Weaknesses
- The law imposed a threshold under which the tax would not be implemented, which excluded several animal source foods from its scope, such as fluid milk.
- The tax solely relied on fat content and so did not apply to lean meat.
- The law contained broad exemption for food products for export, animal feed, and food from small companies.
- The revenues generated by the tax were not allocated to subsidise plant-based foods.
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