From 2012 on the Danish government plans to levy more taxes on popular products such as beer, sweets, soft drinks, chocolate, cigarettes, and from 2013 also on jam and ketchup.
Danish Finance Minister Bjarne Corydon presented the state budget on Thursday. He hopes to fill the state treasury with additional surcharges of at least ten euro cents per product for beer and wine alone will help the state gain about EUR 95 million. The other ‘non-useful foods’ should bring in about EUR 97 million euro more next year.
Last summer the previous Danish government introduced a ‘fat surcharge’ of more than 2 euros per kilo on, among other things, butter, officially for better health of the 5.5 million Danes. Copenhagen is eagerly looking for ways to find money to stay financially afloat.
Earlier, the Danish defence minister suggested that Dutch, German and Norwegian fighter planes should take care of the air defence of the Scandinavian country. | © 2011 Marcel Burger for ANP News Agency (original in Dutch, 3 November 2011, previously unpublished)