Ministries in confusion: what is a vegetable and what is fruit?
Cheaper fruit and cheaper vegetables would be a good measure to promote public health. The government wants to achieve this by no longer charging VAT on vegetables and fruit. But that tax adjustment has not happened yet, because they cannot agree: what exactly is a vegetable and what is fruit?
It sounds like a question from kindergarten: what is fruit and what is a vegetable? A banana is fruit, a head of lettuce is a vegetable. Easy enough, right? But when it comes to the tax change, it needs to be precisely defined what will and will not fall within that 0 percent VAT category. And so they have already been discussing it for weeks.
Pasta sauce
A jar of pasta sauce could certainly count as a vegetable, because it is full of tomatoes, some onion and garlic—extremely healthy. But then again, there are also pasta sauces that are not very healthy at all, because they contain sugar or a lot of oil. New definition: only fresh vegetables and fruit qualify for the 0 percent rate. Is that the solution? No, because legumes such as lentils, beans and peas need to be soaked first, making a can or jar much more convenient.
Complications
Fruit seems a lot easier, but that is disappointing too. It is packed with sugar, after all, so how healthy is it? In short, there are still some complications to resolve before it can be determined which healthy groceries will become a little cheaper.
Computer says no
Adjusting the tax rate had already run into problems before. The Tax Administration’s IT systems could not handle a 0 percent rate. In March, the European Union will vote on a proposal to stop charging VAT on vegetables and fruit in other EU countries as well. If that plan is approved, the IT systems can be adjusted. No problem, the Tax Administration says: the new tax rate can be implemented within a few days.
Read also:
- Why it is better to wash and cut your own vegetables and fruit
- You can eat the tastiest vegetables in the Netherlands at De Nieuwe Winkel restaurant
- Albert Heijn stops using plastic bags in its vegetable and fruit section
Source: NOS.nl, image: Albert Heijn/Yasmin Hargreaves
