UK sets outs plans to change sugar tax

Ben Wein

Tue, Apr 29, 2025, 6:39 AM 3 min read

The UK authorities has called for consultation connected proposals to widen the sweetener taxation connected brushed drinks and see milk-based drinks.

The Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL), introduced successful 2018 arsenic an obesity measure, could grow to screen drinks with a little sweetener contented and see milk-based and milk-substitute drinks, which had frankincense acold been exempt.

The consultation lays retired proposals "to physique connected the SDIL’s occurrence successful incentivising brushed drinks producers to trim sweetener content", the HM Revenue & Customs and HM Treasury said successful a associated statement.

The proposals are: to trim the minimum sweetener contented for SDIL to use astatine 18p (24c) per litre from 5-7.9g per 100ml to 4g-7.9g per 100ml; to region the exemption for milk-based drinks portion introducing a 'lactose allowance' which does not penalise earthy sugars from milk; and to region the exemption for beverage substitute drinks with ‘added sugars’ beyond those sugars derived from the main constituent specified arsenic oats oregon rice.

At the moment, drinks with a sweetener contented of 8g oregon much sweetener per 100ml are charged astatine the higher complaint of 24p per litre.

In a statement, a spokesperson for commercialized relation The Food and Drink Federation said: "Food and portion manufacturers are facing a bid of inflationary pressures and authorities indispensable proceed to make the close conditions for businesses to innovate and besides beryllium wide astir their semipermanent goals to beforehand concern confidence. A predictable regulatory situation is captious to ensuring our assemblage tin proceed to put successful processing healthier options."

Manufacturers had already importantly reduced sweetener contented successful drinks implicit the past 5 years, including successful milk-based drinks that are not taxable to SDIL, the spokesperson added.

The British Soft Drinks Association said the changes were unnecessary. “This determination is simply a muddled and damaging shifting of the goalposts which risks undermining years of reformulation concern with questionable affirmative wellness outcomes. More than 7 retired of each 10 brushed drinks sold successful the UK are debased oregon nary sweetener and the full sweetener removed from brushed drinks betwixt 2015 and 2024 is conscionable nether 3 quarters of a cardinal kilograms," a spokesperson said.

The BSDA spokesperson besides pointed to "major and unprecedented fiscal headwinds for our members, from record-high ostentation and NIC increases, to spiralling constituent costs and incoming commercialized tariffs".

The spokesperson added: "Such outgo increases person already impacted our members’ quality to turn their businesses and boost employment, and the lowering of the SDIL threshold risks making this adjacent much challenging."