Britain Publishes Draft Sugar Tax

(Reuters) – Britain moved forward with its planned sugar tax on Monday, publishing draft legislation confirming a two-band levy for sugar-added soft drinks aimed at fighting obesity.

The tax, announced in March, is due to come into force in April 2018, giving sellers of soft drinks, such as Coca-Cola European Partners and Britvic, time to reduce sugar in their products.

The companies, which sell Coca-Cola and PepsiCo drinks respectively, have already been promoting no-sugar drinks such as Coca-Cola Zero Sugar and Pepsi Max cherry, which would be exempt from the tax.

The British levy has two thresholds, one for soft drinks with more than 5 grams of sugar per 100 ml and a higher one for those with more than 8 grams per 100 ml.

It was published on Monday by HM Revenue & Customs as part of an overview of legislative changes to tax law the government plans to introduce in its finance bill for 2017.