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Britain publishes draft sugar tax

Reuters - UK Focus

LONDON, Dec (Shanghai: 600875.SS - news) 5 (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 (Stuttgart: A0HMX9 - news) , time to reduce sugar in their products.

The companies, which sell Coca-Cola and PepsiCo (Euronext: PEP.NX - news) 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. (Reporting by Martinne Geller in London, editing by Louie Heavens)