Tholen – There is a lot of misunderstanding about the cabinet’s plans to increase the consumption tax by 17 cents per liter as of January 1, 2024. These weeks, the House of Representatives will again be in conclave about whether or not to exclude pure juices from the increase in taxes. For Rose Khorenyan, owner of Dutch Cranberry Group, it is clear. “Sugar tax on cranberry juice; it shouldn’t get any crazier. We are seriously considering continuing our business operations outside the Netherlands.”
“We have been paying consumption tax on our pure juices since the 1990s. At the time, the intention was for it to be a temporary measure, but it seems they think it is an easy way to make a lot of money,” Rose continues. By increasing this consumption tax, the government wants to act as a kind of ‘sugar tax’ to combat the consumption of unhealthy soft drinks and energy drinks. Because pure fruit juices also fall under this consumption tax, they will now also be affected by the increase. “In our opinion, this is an unfair way to make money, because why would you charge a sugar tax on pure cranberry juice, pomegranate juice, aloe vera juice or elderberry juice?” the businesswoman wonders out loud.
“We believe that you should not equate our products with a soft drink. We make pure products with natural sugars and do not want to add sugar to our juices. That has brought us to where we are today. If you come abroad, people I am surprised that these types of juices are still being made. It is something to be proud of and which, we believe, should be preserved. Drinking cranberry juice is also often advised by doctors to drink for urinary tract problems,” he emphasizes. Rose the healthy aspects of the pure juice.
Increase can be disastrous
She states that increasing the tax on pure juices, among other things, will have an opposite effect than the intention. This could be disastrous, especially for organic products, she explains. “This government talks a lot about encouraging food and drinks made from organic products, but they do not support us in bringing this to the market at a reasonable price. Organic products are already a bit more expensive than the conventional variant, which in this case times is not always easy. In our opinion, increasing the consumption tax will ensure that people will more often choose the unhealthy variant. A variant that is made from a concentrate to which water and a lot of sugar are added.”
“Pure local juices. It remains to be seen whether we can continue to offer this for a reasonable price in the future. We anticipate that prices will rise enormously and drinking juice will become a luxury. Bear in mind that a bottle of 1 liter carries a tax of €0.26. That’s easy money to make. In any case, we don’t earn this that easily.”
Common sense
Under the initiative ‘We don’t care anymore’, several companies have already taken action against the intended tax increase. They hope to use this to convince members during the House of Representatives debate next week to exclude pure juices from the increase. Rose also calls for the use of common sense. “We hope that there are really sensible people in the House of Representatives. Not people who talk about organic, but understand nothing about how our pure products are made. Do not equate our juices with a soft drink and make an exception for fruit juices , from which the sugar cannot be extracted. If this goes ahead, we will seriously consider continuing our business operations outside the Netherlands where there is more understanding for these types of companies.”
For more information:
Dutch Cranberry Group 
Klundertseweg 32 A
4761 PR Zevenbergen
0031(0)168-785353
info@dutchcranberrygroup.nl
www.dutchcranberrygroup.nl