One step forward, one step back? It is difficult to follow the government’s position on taxes on sweet products, under debate during the examination of the Social Security financing bill for the year 2025, which continued in the National Assembly on Monday, November 4. A sign, without a doubt, that the topic is delicate.
“I am in favor of taxes on processed sugars”had argued the Minister of Health, Geneviève Darrieussecq, in Sunday’s Tribuneon October 27, suggesting that he would support amendments in favor of creating a “contribution” on processed food products with a high content of added sugars, tabled by several MPs. Or a new tax on sugar, consumed far beyond nutritional recommendations by most children, in addition to the one on soft drinks. The Ministry of Budget also indicated that it viewed these modifications favorably. And this, despite the words of his agricultural colleague, Annie Genevard, who spoke out against such “balls on feet” for companies.
But the position of Mme Darrieussecq seems to have lasted a long time. Examined on November 4, the amendments in favor of said taxes, including the one adopted in plenary, which was supported by environmentalists, were not supported by the executive. The decline had begun a few days earlier: “Instead of wanting to systematically tax”the Minister of Health stated, on October 29, that she wanted ” convince “ industrial so that “They are moving towards recipes that use much less sugar”. Position that he clarified in the Chamber, stating that he wanted to work with manufacturers in ” goals ” which, if not achieved, could “trigger taxes”. There is little chance, therefore, that the environmental amendment will survive the expected recourse to article 49.3, to approve the Social Security budget without a vote.
Too complex tax
However, there is one issue on which the government has remained firm: the review of the existing tax on soft drinks, for which deputies have proposed toughening it, revising its scale. The measure that now provides for three sections, with an increase in excise taxes, following the same model as the British tax, was defended by the socialist Jérôme Guedj and by the centrist Cyrille Isaac-Sibille (Ensemble), with the support of the rapporteur, Yannick Neuder (Les Républicains). Rejected in public session in the morning, it was finally adopted during a second deliberation in the afternoon.
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