Sugar tax?

sugar-lumps

So, what exactly is the sugar tax?
A charge that will be levied on soft drinks manufacturing and importing companies.

When did or will it happen?
It was announced by the chancellor, George Osborne, in his budget of March 2016. It will come into play in April 2018, so two years, more or less, from the announcement.

How much will it be?
That wasn’t definitively announced but Office for Budget Responsibility details suggested manufacturers would have to pay 18p a litre for drinks with between 5g and 8g of sugar per 100ml and 24p a litre for drinks with 8g per 100ml or more. But there are more budgets between now and the implementation, so details could change. Pure fruit juices and milk products will be exempt.

What will it mean to prices at the till?
Difficult to say because manufacturers may try to reformulate drinks to avoid the charge or try to move some drinks from the higher to the lower band.
Manufacturers will also have to decide whether they pass the whole charge on to their large retail customers and to wholesalers. And wholesalers and retailers will have to decide whether or not they will pass on the entire charge to their customers.
If the full charge is passed on throughout the chain the effect, including the extra VAT which will also accrue, could add 10p to the price of a 330ml can of sugar-containing soft drinks like Coke and Irn-Bru.
Two-litre take home packs of higher level sugar-containing soft drinks could see combined sugar tax and VAT increases totalling 58p.
In Scotland the Scottish Government will decide how the cash is spent.

Estimated amount raised in first year?
£520m.

Estimated cost of implementation?
£1bn.