Philip Hammond accused of ripping off hardworking British families after Sugar Tax raises £150million since April
The 'Soft Drinks Levy', which makes fizzy drinks between 18p to 24p more expensive, has been criticised in the past for making shopping even pricier for low paid families
CHANCELLOR Philip Hammond was accused of ripping off hard working Brits after it emerged the Sugar Tax has raised £150million since April.
HM Revenue & Customs yesterday showed the Treasury’s “Soft Drinks Levy” has generated £153.4 million in just six months.
The Institute of Economic Affairs last night demanded an immediate review of the policy. IEA policy chief Chris Snowdon stormed: “This is essentially how much is being taken from the pockets of hard working people.”
The Sugar Tax slaps between 18p to 24p on a litre of pop.
Ex-Chancellor George Osborne boasted that the Sugar Tax would raise £520 million a year for school sports when he unveiled the policy in 2016.
The Treasury was then forced to dramatically slash predictions to £240 million after soft drink giants began to reformulate their favourite drinks to cut the sugar content.
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Treasury Secretary Robert Jenrick yesterday said: “Today’s figures show the positive impact the soft drinks levy is having by raising millions of pounds for sports facilities and healthier eating in schools.
“Helping our next generation to have a healthy and active childhood is a priority for us, and I’m pleased to see the industry is playing its part.”
Health officials have warned that more action could taken against the food industry unless they do more to cut sugar content. Public Health England has been working to cut sugar and calories in cereals, yoghurts, pizzas and ready meals.
The UK is one of only a handful of nations to introduce a soft drinks levy – including Mexico, France and Norway.
The Sun Says
WILL the Tories ever put the public health busybodies back in their box?
The fizzy drinks tax was just the start. As The Sun always predicted, they’re now after everything else . . . yoghurts, cereals, takeaways, you name it.
They claim customers want the food industry to cut sugar — and that the Government must use “fiscal levers” if needed to enforce it. That’s a weasel phrase meaning “new taxes consumers will end up paying”.
Yes, obesity is a problem. But the reality of this demented war on the calories and sugar in our food supply — in place of educating Brits about diet and exercise — is blander grub or smaller portions . . . inevitably for the same price.
Shoppers will then rightly turn on these same un-Conservative politicians and nanny-state meddlers who foolishly thought we were all onboard.
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