NO STYLE IS THIS GOOD SERVICE. “Science” wants 0% VAT on fruit and vegetables

Compare apples and pears

DasKap Van Wensen explains it once again

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Hihihi hahaha hohoho how funny the government can’t charge 0% VAT on fruits and vegetables. Yes, we laugh too, but anyone who knows money and taxes can you explain that conducting a policy via VAT in general is a disaster and in this case even more reckless (apart from the fact that the tax and customs administration is heavily overloaded). As we wrote in December, and this also emerges from a study commissioned by the Ministry of Finance: removing VAT on fruit and vegetables is an extremely ineffective measure if you want people to eat more fruit and vegetables .

It sounds easy, but it’s actually hard. However, this convoluted message is not well received by Marjolein Moorman of labor populists (alderman Finance Amsterdam Public Health) and various scientific co-signatories. They did their own research and picked out some VAT-free cherries from the policy fruit bowl in a letter (more here substantive criticism) which basically boils down to “whatever if we already know it’s not working, take this action!”.

We just checked, but the scientists who signed the letter, in addition to various other aldermen and a few GGD hosts, are: a professor of epidemiology of lifestyle and cardiometabolic disorders, a bariatric surgeon, a scientist from health, a professor of health technology assessment, a clinical psychologist, a health scientist, a researcher in consumption and healthy lifestyles, a financial geographer, a professor of public health, a researcher in public health, teacher of childhood obesity, health economist, health scientist, professor of population health, brain researcher, professor of health promotion, political scientist, professor of social epidemiology , an epidemiologist, a public health researcher, a researcher in consumption and healthy lifestyles, a health scientist, a professor of health law, a professor of nutrition, a health scientist, a professor of public health , an epidemiologist, a professor of public health, a professor of consumption and healthy lifestyles, a researcher in public health and a general practitioner.

ZERO (we repeat: zero) tax professionals. And that’s why “listening to science” doesn’t work for political issues. You run the risk of ignoring questions that are outside the expertise of these scientists. And meanwhile, scientists who know nothing about taxes, but put their name under a letter regarding a tax measure, undermine the “prestige of science”. One could almost say: science is only an opinion.