PARIS, March 18 (Reuters) – France’s National Assembly early on Friday altered a proposed additional tax on palm oil used in food that it had adopted the previous day, making its introduction gradual to allow a softer transition until 2020.
The additional levy, aimed at reflecting the environmental damage palm oil plantations can cause, would start at 30 euros ($ 34) in 2017, rising by 20 euros a year to 90 euros in 2020.
The French government had backed an amendment making the tax progressive but it could not be submitted to vote on Thursday because the authors were away, a parliament source said, initially leaving the tax at a flat rate of 90 euros from 2017. (Reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide; Editing by Richard Pullin)
