Giving fruits and vegetables a tax break: lessons from a Dutch attempt

Abstract Objective: Food taxation can improve diets by making unhealthy foods more expensive and by making healthy foods cheaper. In the Netherlands, a political window of opportunity arose in December 2021 to reduce the value-added tax (VAT) on fruits and vegetables to zero percent. The policy is now facing institutional friction along several fronts, however, delaying and potentially averting its implementation. We analysed this institutional friction to inform future food tax policies. Design: We qualitatively analysed open-access fiscal and health experts’ position papers about benefits an... Mehr ...