Latvian government proposes excise tax on savoury snacks

摘要

The Latvian Health Minister recently presented new government plans to introduce an excise tax for a variety of food categories. These include potato chips (€21 per 100kg), popcorn and salty corn snacks containing more than 1,25g of salt per 1OOg product (€21 per 100kg) and palm oil (€21 per 1001). Plans also include increases to the existing excise tax for tobacco, alcoholic and sweetened beverages. The measures have been justified on public health grounds but would also help plug the €50 million gap in the 2014 Latvian public health budget.