Under the guise of forcing people to eat “healthy”, the governments of Denmark and Hungary have imposed the world’s first taxes targeting specific foods.  Of course those foods are the most affordable for the growing number of people with less and less income.

Hungary has imposed a potato chip snack tax. Snack chips (called crisps, in Europe) will be taxed at about U.S.$1 per kilogram (2.2 pounds), which could add 10 to 20 cents per bag of chips.  The tax includes other items like sugary drinks, snack cakes, salty snacks, and even food flavorings!

Denmark has imposed a U.S.$3 per kilogram (2.2 pounds) tax on the saturated fat content of food.  The main targets of the fat tax are milk, butter and cheese.

Here’s the problem with the logic of the governments’ reasons for taxing food that is fast becoming the only food people can afford: Putting a tax on food does not make people eat healthy!  The taxes imposed by Denmark and Hungary are not enough to force people to buy much more expensive health food. In the case of Denmark, they’re taxing the main staples of European diets; milk,butter and cheese! Rather, I think those governments are trying to capitalize on the fact that more and more people will be buying the “less healthy” food, because they can’t afford anything else!

Read why the Danish fat tax is only about money (clue: the Danes are not fat)!