Pelle Dragsted: Berlingske commentator has lost the plot by calling tax cuts planned economy

Pelle Dragsted says Berlingske’s campaign against reducing Europe’s highest food tax has reached “comic dimensions.” In a reply published as a debate article, the Red-Green Alliance’s political spokesperson attacks a column by Peter Kurrild-Klitgaard.

Dragsted argues that the column rests on a completely mistaken interpretation of both his own proposal and the party’s position. He rejects the suggestion that the plan amounts to planned economy, and says the column has exaggerated the issue.

At the center of the dispute is a possible reduction in value-added tax on food. Dragsted writes that economist after economist acknowledges that a VAT cut would be passed through to food prices almost 100 percent.

Despite that, he says, Berlingske continues to insist that the reduction would not have the claimed effect. The article is explicitly presented as a debate contribution and reflects Dragsted’s own position.

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Berlingske’s campaign against reducing Europe’s highest tax on food has by now reached comic dimensions.