10 November 2026, Oslo: A Norwegian government-appointed expert committee on the country’s food system has recommended bringing back taxes on chocolate, sweets and non-alcoholic drinks, this time in a graduated (tiered) form, alongside a higher tax on sugar itself. The committee’s chair, former health minister Bent Høie of the Conservative Party, presented the proposals in Oslo on November 6. They form part of an official report to the government on how Norway’s food system should develop toward 2050.
The committee, known in Norwegian as the Matsystemutvalget, proposes three linked tax measures:
An increase in the existing tax on sugar.
A new graduated tax on chocolate and sugar confectionery.
A new graduated tax on non-alcoholic beverages.
The committee’s public presentation did not set out the scale for the tiers. Graduated sugar taxes used elsewhere typically charge more as a product’s sugar content rises, rather than applying one flat rate per kilogram or litre. That gives manufacturers a financial reason to reformulate.
At the same time, the committee wants the government to cut taxes, introduce subsidies, or combine both, to make the foods recommended by Norway’s health authorities cheaper and more widely eaten. The reported presentation did not include rates for the new taxes or a design for any subsidies.
The committee justified the package on public health grounds. Non-communicable diseases, a group that includes type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and several cancers, account for about 70% of Norway’s total disease burden, according to the committee. Høie argued that too much of society’s resources goes to treating illness that could have been avoided. The committee said Norway could save billions of kroner in health costs if more people followed official dietary advice.
Reversing the 2021 repeal
The recommendation would partly undo a decision taken five years ago. Norway abolished its tax on chocolate and sugar goods from January 1, 2021, under the Conservative-led government of Erna Solberg, following an initiative by the Progress Party. The tax on non-alcoholic beverages was removed later the same year, from July 1, 2021.
In its final year, 2020, the chocolate and sugar goods tax stood at NOK 21.22 per kilogram, about NOK 4.2 on a 200-gram chocolate bar. A separate tax on pure sugar has applied since 1981 and now stands at NOK 9.67 per kilogram. It does not cover sugar used as an ingredient in products such as cakes, chocolate and jam. The new product taxes proposed by the committee would bring sugar-containing goods such as chocolate and soft drinks back into the tax net.
The earlier chocolate tax was charged per kilogram of product, so it applied the same rate regardless of how much sugar a product contained. A graduated design would allow the charge to vary between products.
The report now goes to the government for consideration. Any tax change would ultimately need the approval of the Storting, Norway’s parliament, through the budget process. Initial reaction from health groups was positive. Magne Wang Fredriksen is secretary general of LHL, Norway’s national association for heart, lung and stroke patients. He welcomed a package that would make high-sugar products relatively more expensive while making fruit, vegetables, whole grains, fish and seafood cheaper, saying the goal should be to make it easier for people to follow dietary advice.
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