Beatrice Adam of Syndicat National des Boissons Rafraichissantes (The National Association of Refreshment Beverages) has published a message regarding ‘The Association’s deep concern over a proposal to impose a tax on carbonated drinks containing artificial colours or sweeteners, in order to make up a shortfall in social security payments to farmers’.
The suggested increase of VAT from 5.5% to 19.6% would result in a price increase for such drinks, with an impact on product purchase.
“This tax would hit hard in an industry that has around 23 production sites in France, with around 5,000 direct employees and millions of indirect employees (suppliers, distributors, delivery drivers),” said Beatrice Adam. “This industry currently represents turnover of around €2.9m in France and supports a great many economic partners. This proposal is therefore unjustified, as the non-alcoholic beverage industry is one of the main links in our agricultural value chain.”
Source: Unesda
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