France approves "cola tax"

For French residents fond of sugary drinks like Coca Cola, life is about to get more expensive. The country’s top constitutional body, the Constitutional Council, approved a new soda tax on Wednesday. The tax, which works out at about 1 euro cent per container, is part of austerity measures passed in France to combat the debt crisis, and is expected to generate around €120 million ($156 million) in revenue for the government.

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In its decision approving the legislation, the Constitutional Council said that while it didn’t believe the government was imposing the tax only to promote health and combat obesity, it also didn’t see any unfair disadvantages for a specific product group in the legislation…

France is not the first country in Europe to levy such a tax. Earlier this year, Hungary introduced a “fat tax” on goods with high fat, sugar and salt content, including soft drinks. Denmark and several other European countries also have soda taxes.

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