Osborne To Levy Sugar Tax On Soft Drinks

George Osborne has announced a sugar tax on soft drinks which will raise £520m for school sports and longer school days.

At the same time the Chancellor said fuel duty would be frozen for the sixth year running along with the levy on beer, cider and whisky.

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Delivering his eighth Budget in the job, Mr Osborne had to admit government debt will rise as a proportion of GDP this year - breaking a key rule he had set himself - while economic growth forecasts have been revised down sharply.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the Chancellor's Budget was the "culmination of six years of his failures" and had "unfairness at its very core".

On the sugar levy, Mr Osborne told MPs: "Doing the right thing for the next generation is what this government and this Budget is about."

He said the measure would raise £520m to be spent on doubling dedicated funding for primary school sports and providing an optional longer school day for 25% of secondary schools so they can offer pupils a wider range of activities.

:: Corbyn: Budget Reflects Six Years Of Failure

He added: "I am not prepared to look back at my time here in this Parliament, doing this job and say to my children's generation, 'I'm sorry, we knew there was a problem with sugary drinks and we knew it caused disease but we dumped the difficult decisions and did nothing'."

A Sky Data Snap Poll suggested two-thirds of people would support the tax on sugary drinks, but more than half said it would not impact on the amount of soft drinks they buy.

Chef Jamie Oliver, a vocal campaigner for a sugar tax, said the Chancellor's announcement that he will tax the soft drinks industry was "amazing news".

But Gavin Partington, director general of the British Soft Drinks Association, said the move was "extremely" disappointing.

The announcement saw shares in Britvic (Stuttgart: B6S.SG - news) , which makes Tango, Irn Bru maker A.G. Barr and Coca-Cola's UK arm fall by up to 40p per share before rallying slightly.

Defending the Government's austerity drive, the Chancellor said this had enabled the Government to give tax cuts to millions of families with the personal allowance rising to £11,500 next year and the higher 40p rate going up to £45,000.

Unveiling changes to business taxes Mr Osborne announced corporation tax would fall to 17% by April 2020.

On education, Mr Osborne announced maths would be made a compulsory subject for students until the age of 18.

In a move that outraged Tory eurosceptics, Mr Osborne also used his set-piece speech to argue the UK will be "stronger, safer and better off" inside a reformed EU.

The Chancellor warned against putting at risk the hard work taken to make the economy strong again by quitting the bloc.

The ISA limit will be increased to £20,000 a year while lifetime ISAs will be introduced from April 2017 for people aged under 40, which would be topped up by the Government by £1 for every £4 saved until they reach the age of 50.

Insurance premium tax is to be increased by 0.5% to generate £700m for flood defences.

In help for the oil and gas industry, which has been hit by falling global prices, Mr Osborne said he was "effectively abolishing Petroleum Revenue Tax".

In a sideswipe at the Scottish nationalists, he said: "We are only able to provide this kind of support to our oil and gas industry because of the broad shoulders of the United Kingdom."

Key Points: Budget Announcements At A Glance

Mr Osborne said he would introduce additional spending cuts totalling £3.5bn by 2020 - lower than the £4bn expected.

Forecasts for UK economic growth have been downgraded. In 2015 it has been reduced from 2.4% to 2.2%, from 2.4% to 2% in 2016, from 2.5% to 2.2% in 2017, from 2.4% to 2.1% in 2018 and from 2.3% to 2.1% in both 2019 and 2020.

Meanwhile, forecasts for national debt as a proportion of GDP have been revised upwards in each of the coming years - from 81.7% to 82.6% in 2016/17 and in subsequent years through to 2020/21 when it rises from 71.3% to 74.7%.

The deficit - the amount the Government spends above what it brings in - is forecast to fall next year to 2.9%. In 2017/18, it falls to 1.9%, then it falls again to 1.0% in 2018/19.

This compares with forecasts for public sector net borrowing in the November 2015 Autumn Statement of 2.5% in 2016/17, 1.2% in 2017/18 and 0.2% in 2018/19.

Conservative MPs cheered Mr Osborne's announcement that the richest 1% now contributed 28% of all income tax revenue - a higher proportion than at any point under Labour.

In a move that will be welcomed in Wales, the Chancellor announced the Severn crossing tolls would be halved by 2018.

:: Sky Data interviewed a nationally representative sample of 1,011 Sky (LSE: BSY.L - news) customers by SMS on 16th March 2016. Data weighted to the profile of the population.

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