Revenue through ‘sugar tax’ falls short of original forecast

In his Budget statement, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, announced that the ‘sugar tax’, which was announced during last year’s spring Budget, will raise less funds than originally forecasted because manufactures have been effective in reformulation to remove sugar from their products.

The Chancellor described this as "good news" for children and maintained the Government’s promise that the Education Department will still receive the £1bn originally earmarked from the levy.

The ‘sugar tax’ on soft drinks is due to come into effect in April 2018. It will place an estimated levy on manufactures of 18p per litre for fizzy drinks with total sugar content above 5g per 100ml and 24p per litre for drinks with more than 8g per 100ml.

President of the BSDHT, Helen Minnery, said, “What we appear to have seen here is evidence of positive action from soft drink manufacturers to reduce the amount of sugar in their products, which in turn will hopefully see a positive effect on the nation’s oral health.