Sugar tax will 'hit the poor hardest'

The 'sugar tax' outlined in Chancellor George Osborne's March budget will "hit the poor the hardest", critics have claimed.

According to the Tax Payers' Alliance (TPA) the tax will present "an arbitrary burden on the poor" and "has nothing to do with the sugar content of products" as a survey carried out by the organisation indicated some drinks which have been allowed exemptions are worse than some that have not.

TPA chief executive Jonathan Isaby said: "It is deeply concerning that the Government has given in to the pressures from the public health lobby and is pushing ahead with this regressive tax which will hit the poorest families hardest.

"The evidence shows that the sugar tax has nothing to do with the sugar content of products, so it is farcical to suggest that this will have any positive impact on people's diet or lifestyle choices."

Mr Osborne insisted that the measure will be beneficial for the next generation when he unveiled the plans earlier this year and said introducing the tax was "the right thing" to try to address the issue of childhood obesity.

And a Treasury spokesman described the tax as "a major step forward in our efforts to tackle childhood obesity" and said it would be charged on soft drinks as "health experts agree there is a specific problem with sugar-laden fizzy drinks".

The sugar tax is a levy on soft drinks firms which from 2018 will see companies charged according to the level of sugar in their products with the expected £520 million raised used to help support primary school sport.