Rachel Reeves is preparing to bring in a milkshake tax in an attempt to reduce obesity levels despite the complete failure of the 2018 sugar tax that has seen obesity levels accelerate rather than fall. The Telegraph has more.
The Chancellor has drawn up plans to impose a sugar tax on milk and yoghurt-based beverages for the first time, after concluding that they are damaging public health.
The levy will drive prices up by as much as 24p a litre, with officials expecting 93% of drinks on the market to be affected unless they change their recipes.
Ms Reeves also intends to make an existing tax on fizzy drinks more onerous. This would force the makers of drinks such as Irn-Bru and Ribena to cut sugar content or face having to pay the tax.
The Treasury, which disclosed the plans in a consultation published on Monday, insisted that the anti-obesity move was needed because its current levy had not reduced the nation’s sugar intake, which is still twice the recommended levels.
However, experts accused Sir Keir Starmer of another breach of his election pledge not to raise taxes on working people.
Dr Christopher Snowdon, head of lifestyle economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs, said: “The sugar tax has been such a dramatic failure that it should be repealed, not expanded.
“It has been costing consumers £300 million a year while childhood obesity rates have continued to rise.
“To claim it has been a success on the basis of a hypothetical reduction of one calorie a day is absurd. Sugar taxes have never worked anywhere. What happened to Starmer’s promise to not raise taxes on working people?”
The sugar tax – officially the “soft drinks industry levy (SDIL)” – is set at 18p per litre, or 24p for higher-sugar drinks.
It was introduced in 2018 and Ms Reeves announced in October that she planned to extend it. However, she did not give details.
At present, only fizzy drinks with more than 5g of sugar per 100ml qualify for the tax, but the document said the Government is proposing to reduce this to 4g: a more “ambitious target”.
The change will capture drinks such as Sanpellegrino lemonade, which has 4.5g of sugar per 100ml, as well as the likes of Lucozade, Old Jamaica Ginger Beer and Fanta, all of which have reduced their sugar content to slightly below the existing 5g threshold.
Worth reading in full.
To join in with the discussion please make a donation to The Daily Sceptic.
Profanity and abuse will be removed and may lead to a permanent ban.