On Tuesday, Moxnes marked the opening of Rødt’s election campaign with a visit to the soft drink producer Coca-Cola in Lørenskog in Akershus municipality.
He now warns against reintroducing the tax on non-alcoholic beverages, which was removed after budget negotiations earlier this year. The tax exemption has made soft drinks cheaper.
The Red leader will not have the tax on chocolate and sugar products back either.
“We do not want a new tax unless it both takes into account real health effects, and at the same time safeguards the development of Norwegian industry and limits cross-border trade,” Moxnes told NTB.
Warned against cheaper soft drinks
The move comes the week after Moxnes presented one of the party’s most important election campaign promises, namely free dental health for all.
The Consumer Council has previously warned that lower prices for soft drinks will increase consumption, which in turn can have unfortunate consequences for public health. The National Association for Public Health has also opposed the tax cut on soft drinks.
Moxnes, for his part, believes that the fee is poorly justified.
– Red wants a tax policy that reduces the differences, and does not want taxes that are poorly justified. We want to cut flat and anti-social taxes and have more differentiated environmental taxes that take economic and geographical considerations into account, says Moxnes.
«Idiot tax increases»
If there is a change of government this autumn, Moxnes may have to fight against proposals for a new sugar tax. Politicians in the Labor Party, the Center Party and the Socialist People’s Party have previously said Aftenposten that they want to have a new and nutritionally justified sugar tax investigated after the tax on chocolate and sugar products was removed.
Moxnes says he will go against “idiotic tax increases”.
– Red wants a tax policy that reduces the differences and goes towards idiotic tax increases, as the increase in sugar tax was also for sugar-free products. We want to cut flat and anti-social taxes and take into account both Norwegian jobs, the environment and health, says Moxnes.
It can thus be the stage for tough tax battles in the Storting. On a recent survey Kantar has conducted for TV 2 it is prone to bourgeois collapse and red-green election victory.
At the same time, Rødt makes a huge leap up to 7.5 percent support. That would give the party 14 parliamentary seats, against today’s one.
– FRP has zero credibility
It was the Progress Party that got the pressure through removing the excise tax on soft drinks in the negotiations on a revised national budget with the government parties this summer.
Previously, the FRP has received approval to remove the tax on chocolate and sugar products after the party in 2018 participated in a sharp increase in the same tax.
Moxnes denies that he is now stealing FRP’s clothes.
– Red has always been concerned with differences and negative to antisocial taxes. FRP has zero credibility. They have mainly delivered a tax policy that benefits the super-rich and a tax policy that affects the anti-social. Red wants the opposite, says Moxnes.
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