Reeves Planning Sugar Tax Scope Extensions
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- Published: Tuesday, 29 April 2025 14:03
- Written by Guy Tuggle
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Chancellor Rachel Reeves is understood to be considering the extension of sugar taxes to encompass milk based drinks and yoghurts. Currently, sugar taxes, officially the ‘Soft Drinks Industry Levy‘ (SDIL), are added at 18p per litre to fizzy drinks rising to 24p per litre for higher sugar content drinks like San Pellegrino lemonade..
Drinks containing 5 or more grams of sugar per 100ml are subject to the tax and Reeves is also believed to be seeking a reduction to 4 grams which would bring more beverages within scope.
Health campaigners cite sugar consumption for unprecedented levels of obesity whilst dental workers continue to be alarmed at the prevalence of caries necessitating surgical intervention in children.
The World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) is in no doubt with regard to the efficacy of sugar taxes to influence consumer behaviour. ’Emerging evidence shows that the levy is having an impact by encouraging reformulation and decreasing the volume of sugar purchased through soft drinks’ the WCRF’s website states.
’One study found positive associations between the levy and a reduction in obesity among girls aged 10 and 11 years old, with the greatest reduction among the most deprived children. And it is estimated that the tax was associated with preventing over 5,000 cases of obesity in girls in Year Six in England. This is something we should celebrate, as the tax seems to be achieving what it set out to do.’
The British Dental Association’s Chair Eddie Crouch appeared on Monday’s (28th April) BBC Panorama where he slammed the food industry for adding sugar to infant nutrition pouches.
The BDA says it has examined ’hundreds’ of pouches labelled as ’healthy’ but which contain more sugar than Coca-Cola. Some of these were being marketed for consumption by children as young as four months old.
“If we look at a carbonated drink, which has about 15g of sugar, we’ve got these pouches that are being advertised as healthy, they’ve got 4g of sugar more than the can of drink, which is really quite shocking" said Mr Crouch.
The BDA supports, amongst other measures, higher taxes to discourage unhealthy behaviour. These have proved highly effective in forcing millions of people to quit smoking with some chancellors adding ’draconian’ increases in a bid to push consumption over a cliff edge. In Australia smoking has almost ceased as the price of a packet of cigarettes costs over $50 (£+/- £24) of which $35 is tobacco tax.
But so-called ’sin taxes’ face robust opposition, especially from right wing think tanks and libertarians who advocate the rights of individuals to make their own decisions with regard to their behaviour.
Unfortunately for the sin tax opponents, infants and toddlers are not in a position to make choices and a majority do believe it is the job of health professionals and policy makers to protect the young from harm.
Quoted in the Daily Telegraph (28th April), Dr Chistopher Snowdon, head of lifestyle economics at the long established right wing think tank 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".
And Mel Stride, the Shadow Chancellor whose former Conservative government introduced the SDIL in 2018, signalled his opposition saying "At a time when they have already pushed up the cost of living for families, Labour seem determined to pile on even more costs with this new milkshake tax."
James Murray MP, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury said "Nearly a decade on, we believe it is time to set a more ambitious target. In addition, whilst there is no doubt about the nutritional benefits of plain milk, it remains an anomaly that sugary pre-packaged milkshakes and other milk based drinks are exempt from the levy ... we propose measures that could save thousands more from becoming overweight or living with obesity."
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