Auderghem plans new tax on fast-food restaurants

The Brussels municipality of Auderghem plans to tax fast-food outlets, requiring them to pay €10,000 upon opening and then €12,000 per year as part of a broader public health plan.

The amounts would each be doubled for establishments located less than 100 metres from a school, RTBF reports.

Burger King, Pizza Hut, Domino's Pizza and O'Tacos are currently the only chains who meet the criteria outlined in legislation - they offer food for consumption on the premises or takeaway, are open between 11.00 and 20.00, offer "automated ordering via terminals or similar devices or ordering at the counter", and involve "the consumption of products from a brand corresponding to the establishment's brand name", something specific to fast-food chains.

Small snack bars and neighbourhood chip shops are therefore not affected by the measure, which aims to target only the biggest fast-food corporations.

“There are at least 1,000 large fast-food outlets in Belgium and the industry plans to open another 250,” said Auderghem mayor Sophie de Vos (DéFi).

“These restaurants are a nuisance to the health of our fellow residents. What's more, their strategy is aimed at young people. It's no surprise, then, that they set up shop near schools or on the way to school. The chains deny this, but several studies have proven that these chains’ marketing strategy is aimed at young people.”

Under the proposed legislation, advertising on billboards for fast-food outlets could be banned in the municipality and awareness campaigns are being prepared in schools.

Such a tax could bring in €100,000 per year to Auderghem.

“It's not a huge amount, but given our finances, it's not insignificant,” de Vos said.

An initial draft of the legislation was adopted but then rejected by the Brussels region. The municipality is now preparing a new, more detailed version.

“We’re going to draft a new text and justify it further so that it can be presented to the next municipal council,” said de Vos.

“Our finances are healthy, but there’s a lot of bad news on the horizon. There’s the financial impact on municipalities of the unemployment reform, the potential merger of municipalities and the decline in personal income tax revenue, which in our case represents a drop of €700,000. We will soon have to face significant difficulties.”