A bitter tax for those who love dessert. A tax that is of noble purposes that is above all the case of cash. The countdown has begun. After a long-and-and-tile between the government and the companies, in the end a date was set: from 1 July 1st July should come into force (after the negative opinion expressed by the Ministry of Economy and by the accounting of the State to the proposal of Forza Italia and the League to postpone it to 2026) the measure that aims to limit the consumption of sugary drinks. It is the controversial and contested (from companies in the sector) Sugar Tax, desired to limit, according to food, the number of obese people. One of the many ideological mystifications with which you want to replenish the public budget. A revenue of about 100 million are expected, but the deterrent function for excesses in sugar consumption is not certain. The law had a troubled life and there are those who confide in yet another postponement. Launched by the Conte II government with the 2020 financial (health minister Giulia Grillo) subsequently, for the strong opposition of Minister Antonio Tajani, eight times was postponed until, last May, the entry into force on 1 July was set.
This year the tax will be five cents of euros per liter for sugary drinks and 13 cents per kilogram for sugary products “after dilution”. Then, in 2026, he will pass 10 and 25 cents respectively. Gassate and precisely sugary drinks will be affected by the increases, the tea with this same characteristic, the energy drinks and fruit juices. Based on a count updated to 2023, the Sugar Tax is present in 105 countries with a 51 percent coverage of the world population, in particular, of 67 percent of the citizens of low -income countries compared to 29 percent of high income ones. But many are already back, such as Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Israel and Australia, he explains to Panorama The president of Assobibe, Giangiacomo Pierini, and others like Mexico have found that obesiastuuu -tales despite the tax.
A group of researchers from the University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine analyzed the impact of the Sugar Tax from the moment of his introduction in the United Kingdom in 2018 until 2023, then publishing the outcome of the study on Plos Medicine. According to the authors, a cause-effect relationship between taxation and decrease in weight has not emerged. Furthermore, while there was a drop in obesity of 8 percent in girls between 10 and 11 years old, especially among those residing in the “most disadvantaged areas”, for males the situation remained unchanged. Elena Dogliotti, nutritionist biologist and scientific supervisor for the Umberto Veronesi Foundation, explains that “males would seem more exposed, compared to girls, to the advertising of sugary drinks, including energy drinks sponsored by influencers, athletes and sports characters. As detected by numerous studies, males spend more time in front of computers and TV ». For children, the “part of the lion” would do the fruit juices.
This could explain why Sugar Tax alone cannot fight obesity in this age group if not accompanied by education to proper nutrition. Italy has the problem of the growing obesity of the population, but sugary drinks would not be among the main suspects. According to the Eurostat data of 2019 (last available detection), the consumption of these soft-redrink in our country is the lowest in Europe: just over 5 percent of the population over 15 years makes it daily, while the EU average is 9, with Belgium to lead the ranking with over 20 percent.
Furthermore, our companies are already reformulating the compositions of their products and the way they are advertised, with the inclusion of more information on the label, from the composition of food to nutritional values. “We have signed two protocols with the Ministry of Health, taking the commitment to review recipes and formats, removing 40 percent of sugar” confirms the president of Assobibe, Pierini. “The tax has nothing to do with the health of people because it does not push companies to improve recipes” says Pierini and specifies that it is not even justified by the market, since “the consumption of soft drinks has been falling for 15 years”. The effect of the Sugar Tax “will only be a sales of 16 percent sales as esteemed by Nomisma. In addition, there will be a lower purchase of raw materials estimated at 400 million euros in the first two years ».
The tax will also lead to a bureaucratization of the procedures, “72 additional with hundreds of Excel sheets to fill out.” As for the greater costs for users, it is difficult to make forecasts. «The additional cost of about 10 cents per liter is valid for the manufacturer. Then there is an increase in taxation per liter of beverages of 28 percent. Everything will be downloaded from the supply chain on the final product ». But there is also a risk of employment, according to Nomisma, to five thousand jobs in the entire supply chain. From here in July, however, something could change and come yet another postponement. «Signs have come from the government in this sense, but we ask for timeliness. Investments are blocked pending clarifications ». However, it is up to the Ministry of Economy to beat a blow. At the moment he tries to beat cash.
