New hole in the water for the sugar tax and plastic tax in Italy. The two tax measures elsewhere applied to guide the reformulation of soft drinks responsible for obesity, tooth decay and metabolic diseases and to reduce the consumption of resources for disposable plastics (which we find fragmented even in the placenta), have once again been postponed in the Bel Paese, slipped into the conversion into law (secured by a vote of confidence) of the ‘Superbonus’ decree (39/2024). (1)
Deaf to the repeated requests of civil society and international health authorities, but attentive to the demands of industry, the representatives of the majority political parties have staged a race of obedience to the lobbies, with the sole virtue of ‘transparency’. For memory’s sake.
Sugar tax, the bitter taste in the mouth
The taxation of soft drinks sweetened with sugar or other sweeteners, introduced in 2020 by the Conte II government, was opposed in every way by the soft drink industry, which is mostly based on sugar water and synthetic flavourings. Products with an unhealthy nutritional profile, moreover already subject to reduced VAT (10%) unlike the best freshly squeezed orange juice (22%), as we have seen. (2)
Against the sugar tax, the industry first appealed to the TAR for fiscal unfairness. Attempt rejected at sender by the Constitutional Court. (3)
In view of the entry into force, 1st July 2024, the usual ballet has begun: pressure on friendly parties, false declarations on the hypothetical ineffectiveness of the measure (instead demonstrated in the Countries where it is already in force) and of economic damage, in this case with the blackmail of the jobs at risk. A consolidated technique, as we have seen, in Big Food’s fight against the WHO recommendations. (4)
The result, at first limited to the halving of the tax (from 10 to 5 cents per hectolitre) for two years, was finally the postponement of the sugar tax by one year, to 1 July 2025.
Plastic tax, new postponement
The plastic tax, also introduced in the 2020 budget law, is postponed again, by two years, July 2026.
The measure aims to reduce the consumption of certain types of single-use plastic packaging, made entirely with the consumption of new resources, through a tax of 450 euros per tonne.
Compostable and recycled plastics, even partially, are in fact excluded from the single-use products subject to the target tax (as are medical devices and pharmaceutical packaging).
Short-sightedness and the need to obey the orders of lobbies also in this case penalises the health of the population.
Combined with the opposition to the deposit system (DRS) on single-use plastic bottles – valuable in eliminating waste leakage and fuelling recycling -, (5) the sinking of the plastic tax sounds like an invitation to further pollute the environment and food with polymers that in nanometric form have already been found in the lungs, placenta and other organs of the human body. (6)
Marta Strinati
Footnotes
(1) V. https://www.senato.it/leg/19/BGT/Schede/Ddliter/58131.htm
(2) Marta Strinati. Orange juices, juices and drinks. 50 in comparison. FT (Food Times). 30.4.24
(3) Marta Strinati. Green light from the Constitutional Court to the sugar tax. Food Times. 26.3.24
(4) Marta Strinati, Dario Dongo. Nutrition and health, here’s how Big Food obstructs the WHO. FT (Food Times). 3.9.20
(5) Marta Strinati. DRS, Deposit Return Scheme. Three textbook cases. FT (Food Times). 9.3.24
(6) Marta Strinati. Microplastics, a new cardiovascular risk factor. Food Times. 11.3.24
Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".
