Romania looks into junk food tax

Posted by Daniel Palmer on 13th January 2010

Romania is planning to introduce a tax on unhealthy food as early as March as they look to increase the level of funds allocated to their health system.

The news comes soon after reports that Taiwan is considering becoming the first country to introduce a tax on junk food.

Full details of the tax still need to be developed but, if approved, it is expected to apply to producers of fast-food products, certain snacks and crisps, confectionery and soft drinks.

Such ideas have been floated in a number of countries of the world, including Australia, but have never really got off the ground due to concerns about adding to the costs of consumers and the difficulty in coming up with a suitable scheme. Defining products that should be taxed creates a whole number of issues because junk food is, to an extent, a grey area. How much fat, sugar and/or salt make a product junk food?