The government can ‘start tomorrow’ with scrapping VAT on fruit and vegetables, by determining what can in any case be regarded as such. This is what Jutka Halberstadt, assistant professor of childhood obesity at VU University Amsterdam says on World Obesity Day.
For the time being, a committee is examining the government’s plan to scrap VAT, because it must become clear whether or not tomato sauce, for example, is a vegetable.
No VAT on fruit and vegetables
“No tax on fruit and vegetables seems difficult. You can also think: we will start with what is clearly fruit and vegetables, and we will arrange that tomorrow,” she says. According to Halberstadt, who has published several books on nutrition together with fellow scientist Jaap Seidell, there is insufficient political will to take such a measure that can make citizens healthier. “This unwillingness is at the expense of the citizens’ quality of life and also their productivity. You want the well-being of the population, that slowness does not help at all.”
In the coalition agreement, the current cabinet proposed scrapping VAT on fruit and vegetables completely by 2024. To do this, it is first necessary to determine what fruit and vegetables are exactly. The results of that study are expected shortly. Based on this, the government determines whether existing VAT rules will be amended.
Fight against overweight and obesity
Agreements made about smoking, alcohol and overweight in the 2018 National Prevention Agreement are also “not enough,” she says. “The ink of that agreement was not yet dry, or the RIVM’s analysis of the measures in the agreement showed that they are insufficient to achieve the goals.” The government should therefore impose ‘additional rules’ on the business community, she believes.
Being overweight can lead to obesity, a chronic disease. Obesity can lead to countless other diseases, such as cancer and cardiovascular disease. “It is inconceivable that we are carrying water to the sea in the fight against overweight and obesity, such as by allowing an abundance of advertisements for fattening products and the continuous availability of delicious cheap unhealthy food,” Halberstadt said. ANP.
‘Difference in health between rich and poor’
Halberstadt notes that while there is a shift in mentality about healthier food, it’s not happening fast enough yet. “And it reaches people in higher social economic positions faster. As a result, differences in health between rich and poor are widening.”
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VU researcher: ‘Start scrapping VAT on fruit and vegetables tomorrow’