Government backtrack on George Osborne’s sugar tax plan after muddle in report which says producers should pay
Manufacturers demand to know what is the point of the sugar tax if it is not to persuade families to drink less
PLANS for a sugar tax were in disarray last night after the Government backtracked.
George Osborne suggested it would add between 18p and 24p to the cost of a litre of pop when he unveiled his last Budget.
The former Chancellor, sacked when Theresa May became PM, said consumers would drink less because producers may pass on the price rise.
But advice published by the Treasury last week says the bill will be picked up entirely by producers and insists: “This is not a tax on consumers.”
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Manufacturers are now demanding to know what is the point of the sugar tax if it is not to persuade families to drink less.
Gavin Partington, of the British Soft Drinks Association, said: “Ministers can’t have it both ways.
“Osborne said consumers would pay and drink less. Now we’re told business will pay yet it won’t cost jobs.
“It doesn’t stack up. The Government should can the soft drinks tax now before we all pay the price.”