A wide range of businesses across the United Kingdom – including manufacturers, convenience stores, and pubs – have teamed up to push for the cancellation of the proposed new “sugar tax”.
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The campaign follows the publication of a report by Oxford Economics, which claims the tax would wipe £132m from UK GDP and put 4,000 jobs at risk.
British Sugar has joined hands with various industry associations to start a campaign that is aimed at opposing the proposed United Kingdom sugar tax.
George Osborne introduced the sugar levy in March’s budget, telling parliament he was “not prepared” to look back and say “we did nothing” on obesity and sugary drinks.
Research predicts that a United Kingdom sugary drinks tax would result in £300 million direct savings to the NHS, and significant increased quality of life, and thus economic productivity, for hundreds of thousands of people.
The study, by Oxford Economics on behalf of the British Soft Drinks Association, said the levy would hit the hospitality industry and small retailers hardest.
“At a time of economic uncertainty the government needs to be supporting these businesses and working with industry to support actions that are already making a difference, such as reformulation, smaller packs, and more marketing of the many no sugar options now available”, Partington said.
William Martin, chairman of the National Farmers Union’s Sugar Board said he questions the effectiveness of the tax in addressing the issue of obesity while Kate Nicholls, chief executive, Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers added that the sugar tax will not be the “silver bullet” that will tackle the country’s obesity problems.
The report authors predicts that calorie consumption will drop by just five calories per person per day as a result of the tax – the equivalent of a bite of an apple.
A Treasury spokesperson added that if the soft drinks industry reformulates, they won’t have to pay the tax.
Companies were given two years to prepare for the tax, which will be assessed on the volume of sugar-sweetened drinks that companies produce or import. Already Britvic has said it will reduce calories in their drinks by 20% over the next four years in response to the levy.
“These conditions place an huge toll on our nation’s health and our already’stretched health service”.
“British children are now consuming three times the recommended amount of sugar and health experts agree there is a specific problem with sugar-laden soft drinks”.
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Rather than taxing soft drinks, the Government should focus on more “meaningful” measures to tackle the spread of obesity and support businesses, they claim.
