Mixing dairy in fruit juice is not evading sugar tax, loophole in law not closed for the time being | RTL News

It revolves around milk permeate, a residual product from the making of cottage cheese. Riedel, the maker of soft drinks such as Appelsientje, Coolbest and Dubbelfrisss, adds a little of this to the juices. And then sells it as ‘Appelsientje Fruitdrink’, in flavors such as pear, apple and orange. These drinks contain 10 percent permeate.

By adding dairy, the drink is not subject to the consumption tax for non-alcoholic drinks. This is also called the sugar tax. This tax has been increased since the beginning of this year, from 17.30 euros per 100 liters to 26.13 euros.

Healthy Choice

The tax increase applies to all non-alcoholic drinks: from soft drinks to non-alcoholic beer. Only mineral water escapes the dance; the tax has been abolished for this purpose. Because this is ‘a healthy choice’, according to the government.

That was one of the reasons for increasing taxes: so that people can live healthier lives. In addition, it provides the state with a nice extra revenue in taxes.

For this year, State Secretary Marnix van Rij (taxation) is counting on 699 million euros in income from this tax, he reports in response to parliamentary questions about the issue. If the additional revenue from the increase of 300 million euros is included in that estimate, the increase will therefore generate 75 percent additional income.

Unclear what Treasury is missing out on

The ministry cannot say what the treasury is missing out on as a result of Riedel’s trick. There is no need to report soft drinks containing dairy, so it is unclear how many of them are sold.

In his letter to Parliament, the State Secretary makes no bones about it: the increase is mainly to fill the treasury, not to ‘promote a healthy lifestyle’. Van Rij does not intend to change the law, because the cabinet is outgoing.

It’s the House of Representatives’ turn

In itself it could be done, for example by allowing consumption tax to also apply to drinks that contain a little dairy. In the event that the House of Representatives insists that something be done about ‘the loophole’, Van Rij has already listed some options.

The question is whether that will happen. The motions submitted on the subject ‘do not provide a clear picture’, the State Secretary delicately notes. And if a new law or amendment to the current law is quickly approved by the House of Representatives and the Senate, Customs will need at least one to two years to prepare the measure.