The United Kingdom on Friday became the latest country to join a growing list of countries that have enacted ‘sugar tax’ laws on sweetened beverages as a way to fight obesity among children which is the leading cause of cardiovascular diseases later in life such as hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes among others.
The UK is said to have the highest level of obesity in Western Europe.
South Africa’s proposal to tax sugar sweetened beverages which was first announced in 2016 finally came into effect on Sunday 1st April 2018.
The new sugar tax called the ‘Sugary Beverages Levy” and a part of the “Health Promotion Levy” is set at 2.1 cents per gram of sugar content that exceeds 4g per 100ml. According to the new law, the first 4g per 100ml are levy free.
“Sugar” refers to intrinsic and added sugar and other sweetening matter. However, fruit juice is exempt.
South Africa’s largest dairy fruit juice maker, Clover Industries said on Tuesday it would soon introduce Tropika Slender, a low-sugar and low-calorie variant of its bestselling beverage, Tropika, as it seeks to protect its market against a government sponsored sugar-tax that is to come into effect in April 2017. Clover has about 80% market share of South Africa’s dairy fruit juice sector.
Health advocates in Mexico are recommending the government double the tax on sugary drinks to curb rising obesity and at the same time raise revenue.
Supporters of a higher levy on sweetened beverages say that the 10% surcharge initially placed on fizzy drinks three years ago have had no effect on its consumption and industry sales.
Mexican government has taken in about $2.5bn in revenue since the surcharge was introduced, more than they had expected.
Industry groups opposed to South Africa’s Treasury plan to tax Sugar-Sweetened Beverages (SSBs) made their concerns heard on Monday which was the last day for the public to submit comments on the proposed tax.
Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA), the South African group bottler of Coca-Cola products, said on Thursday it may not fulfill its commitment to invest R800 million rand ($54m) in enterprise development if the government goes ahead with its plans for a 20% tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB).
CCBA , which was created out of a merger of SABMiller’s soft drinks business, the Coca-Cola company’s South African operations and Coca-Cola SABCO warned that the proposed tax would make it difficult for the group to meet its merger obligations as it would cause financial strain in an industry where fixed costs were already high.
The UK government on Thursday unveiled its plan for a sugar tax on sweetened beverages as it seeks consultations from stakeholders.
The Soft Drinks Industry levy as it would be known seeks to tackle childhood obesity. It was first announced in March as part of the 2016 budget and will come into effect in April 2018.
South African beverage industry has come out to oppose the proposed sugar-tax on sweetened beverages in the country, which the government announced earlier in the year and that is expected to come into effect on April 1, 2017. The group said the tax will lead to thousands of industry-wide job loss if implemented.
The South African Treasury made public on Friday details of a proposal to apply a 20% tax on sugary drinks to stem the tide of obesity and its effects on the population such as diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke and others.
According to Treasury data, 55% of South Africans (42% women and 13% men) are overweight.
