Finland’s Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) is questioning a government proposal to raise the VAT value-added tax on sweets and chocolate. The THL, a Finnish research and development institute which is attached to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, announced that it did not agree with the decision to raise the tax from 14 to 25.5 percent. Talking to STT, the Finnish news agency, a senior THL investigator Heli Kuusipalo explained that the institute would prefer to see a sugar taxation system that was health-based rather than a direct VAT hike. The higher the sugar content in any...