Party for the Animals wants to tax animal slaughter
In early November, the Dutch Party for the Animals submitted an initiative on the taxation of animal slaughter, which MP Lammert van Raan will develop into a law in the coming period, enabling the Netherlands to become the first country in the world to effectively create a tax on meat. Van Raan: "The Netherlands is the second largest exporter of agricultural products and is therefore dealing with a major nitrogen and climate issue. So, the perfect place to start."
Lammert van Raan, Member of Parliament for the Dutch Party for the Animals.
Since its establishment, the Party for the Animals has constantly called for the introduction of a meat tax. However, proposals to create this tax using the high VAT rate kept encountering objections with regard to the execution. In order to meet these concerns, Van Raan has now proposed to introduce a tax early in the chain, i.e. at slaughterhouses.
Slaughter tax
The slaughter tax, as it will be called, will primarily enable the so-called protein transition: the transition from animal protein to more plant-based protein sources. "A radical change of our food system is absolutely essential. We are in a ecological and climate crisis and one of the major causes is our massive meat consumption. PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency – the national government authority for strategic policy analysis in the fields of environment, nature and spatial planning – has already called for a protein transition, as it is the only way to guarantee the long-term sustainability of our food system."
With its initiative and law, the Party for the Animals responds to the ever-increasing demands for higher taxation of meat. Major professional investors in the American meat industry for example are convinced that meat taxes will be introduced. "We want to use the tax system to tax the slaughter of animals, so that both manufacturers and consumers will be tempted to reduce their meat consumption and more easily opt for plant-based alternatives."