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Should the VAT on healthy food be abolished?

Poll results

Should the VAT on healthy food be abolished?
Support
Reject
Don't know
73%
22%
5%
PolitPro Community – 3502 respondents – 01.09.2023-08.09.2023

Poll information

Should the VAT on healthy food be abolished? 73% of respondents are in favor of abolishing VAT on healthy food, while 22% are against.

:undecided% chose the answer "Don't know". The survey was conducted among 3502 users of the PolitPro app during 01.09.2023-08.09.2023. The results are not representative, but may give a rough idea of the political mood around the issue.

Pros - What's in favor?

  1. Promoting health: abolishing VAT on healthy food could promote the consumption of these products. This would help people make healthier dietary choices as lower prices make healthy foods more accessible. In the long run, this could improve public health and support the prevention of diet-related diseases.
  2. Social equity: eliminating the sales tax on healthy foods could be a more socially equitable policy. Lower prices for healthy foods would allow lower-income populations to afford a balanced diet. This could help reduce food inequalities and improve the health of society as a whole.
  3. Food Industry Incentive: Eliminating the sales tax on healthy foods could create incentives for the food industry to offer more healthy options. Lower prices could make healthy food manufacturers more competitive and expand the market for healthy products. This could lead to more people having access to a variety of healthy options.

Cons - What's against it?

  1. Tax Losses: Eliminating the sales tax on healthy foods would result in significant tax losses. Sales tax revenues help fund public services, and foregoing these revenues could lead to budget deficits or require other tax increases.
  2. Definition and implementation: the definition of "healthy" food can be subjective and controversial. It would be challenging to establish a clear and consistent definition of which foods would benefit from the elimination of the sales tax. Implementation and monitoring of such a policy could be complex and incur administrative costs.
  3. Inequity to other products: Eliminating the VAT on healthy foods could be seen as unfair because other products would continue to be subject to the VAT. This could lead to a distortion of the market and disadvantage other industries.