Why it is difficult to tax sweet products

1. The taxation of sugars, or sweet products, is often proposed as a solution to public health problems.

2. It is hoped that this will encourage food and beverage manufacturers to develop new formulas or discourage buyers from consuming as much.

However, unlike the taxation of tobacco products, which is often considered a model, taxing foods or drinks with sugars is a much more complex undertaking.

4. Because of the existence of many different types of sugars, including those that occur naturally in certain foods and those that are added later, there are many competing lobbying interests.

5. Includes fruit growers, market gardeners, sugar cane growers, syrup harvesters and others.

6. All are trying to protect their own sweet products while aiming to remove competing products. (If soft drinks are taxed, what about fruit juice?)

7. This also explains why cross-border trade controls are particularly intense on sugar compared to other products.

8. At the present time, different sugars are already governed by a wide range of taxes, subsidies, and import duties – even before a specific health-focused regime can be put in place. in place.

There is also disagreement as to whether specific end-products rich in sugar, such as soft drinks, should be taxed or whether taxes should fall more directly on sugar producers, cover everything.

10. Moreover, product-specific taxation can only have unequal effects on consumers of various income levels.

11. Soft drinks are generally consumed by people who are least able to offer or have access to healthier choices.

12. The complexity is illustrated by a recent study conducted in the United Kingdom on sugar policies across the country's government in unrelated departments.

13. The departments were at odds, making sugar both cheaper and more expensive at the same time.

14. Some officials put an end to sugar beet quotas and minimum prices (which made them cheaper).

15. Meanwhile, others were trying to regulate the sugar content in industrial foods or taxed soft drinks.

Sources: The Guardian, Financial Times, Global Research Center