皇冠体育app

1. Is this the same as the 鈥渟ugar tax鈥�?

皇冠体育app Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) was nicknamed the 鈥渟ugar tax鈥� by the media and online when it was announced at the 2016 Budget. But this isn鈥檛 a tax on all sugar; the levy directly targets the producers and importers of sugary soft drinks to encourage them to remove added sugar, promote diet drinks, and reduce portion sizes for high sugar drinks.

2. Will the Levy increase how much a soft drink costs me?

This is not a tax on consumers. 皇冠体育app government is not increasing the price of products; companies don鈥檛 have to pass the charge on to their customers. If companies take the right steps to make their drinks healthier they will pay less tax, or even nothing at all.

3. What exactly will be taxed?

皇冠体育app levy will make soft drinks companies pay a charge for drinks with added sugar, and total sugar content of five grams or more per 100 millilitres. That is about 5% sugar content. 皇冠体育appre is a higher charge for the drinks that contain eight grams or more per 100 millilitres, or about 8% sugar content. This means that pure fruit juices won鈥檛 be taxed, because they don鈥檛 contain added sugar. Neither will drinks that have a high milk content, because they contain calcium and other nutrients that are vital for a healthy diet.

4. What will the money raised be spent on?

In England, the new levy revenue will be invested in giving school-aged children a brighter and healthier future, including programmes to encourage physical activity and balanced diets. For Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the Barnett formula will be applied to spending on these new initiatives in the normal way.

5. Why soft drinks in particular?

皇冠体育appre are nine teaspoons of sugar in a 330ml can of cola, instantly taking children above their recommended maximum for the day. A five year old should have no more than 19g of sugar in a day, but a typical can of cola can have 35g. Public health experts from the Chief Medical Officer to the British Heart Foundation agree that sugar-sweetened soft drinks are a major source of sugar for children and teenagers, and that sugar intake drives obesity.

Many soft drinks contain no intrinsic nutritional value, and could be easily reformulated to contain less sugar. Some companies have already done this.

6. Is obesity really a major problem?

Unfortunately, yes. 皇冠体育app UK has one of the highest obesity rates among developed countries, and it鈥檚 getting worse. By 2050, over 35% of boys and 20% of girls aged 6-10 are expected to be obese. 皇冠体育app estimated obesity-related costs to the NHS is over 拢6 billion.

7. Can soft drinks producers really reformulate their products?

Yes. Reformulation is definitely possible and some players in the soft drinks industry are already moving in the right direction. Companies like Tesco, Robinsons and 皇冠体育app Co-Operative have already taken steps to reformulate.

And this isn鈥檛 the first time the food and drinks industry has put the public鈥檚 health first. 皇冠体育app evidence from salt reformulation shows that industry behaviour can reduce unhealthy consumption 鈥� salt intake has been reduced by 15% over the last 10 years by industry taking action. But with a looming obesity crises government believes a strong lever is needed to incentivise industry to move faster and act now.

8. How does this compare to what other countries have done?

Many countries 鈥� including France, Finland, Hungary and Mexico 鈥� have introduced taxes on soft drinks in various forms. 皇冠体育app World Health Organisation has said that taxes are needed to help halt obesity rises across the globe.

皇冠体育app levy that the UK government has unveiled is aimed directly at producers and importers, not consumers, because the government believes that producers need to act, rather than just passing higher prices onto consumers. This kind of approach has been tried in Hungary, and researchers there found that companies did act to remove unhealthy ingredients.

9. Who supports the levy?

Chef Jamie Oliver and other expert health campaigners have highlighted the problem of childhood obesity in the UK.

In fact, over 60 public health organisations have called for a tax on sugary drinks. This includes Public Health England, 皇冠体育app British Medical Association and the Royal Society for Public Health. Dame Sally Davies, Chief Medical Officer for England, has said that reformulation and resizing are the key wins for tackling obesity.

10. When will this come into force?

Not for another two years. 皇冠体育app government is giving producers time to take action before the tax begins, and consulting on some of the detail of the levy. 皇冠体育app government will set out detailed legislation in the Finance Bill 2017, with implementation expected from April 2018 onwards. This gives producers time to reformulate their products, so they won鈥檛 have to pay the levy.

11. What鈥檚 next 鈥� will you start taxing confectionery or other sugary snacks?

No. 皇冠体育appre are no current plans to introduce similar levies or expand this one to confectionery.

However, the government hopes this levy will encourage the entire food and drinks industry to play their part in developing products with lower sugar content.

12. Will the public and experts have a say about the levy?

A public consultation is being run over the summer on the detail of the levy. This will include working with industry and health experts and consulting on a wide range of technical details such as how best to exclude certain drinks, and how to protect the smallest producers.