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Brighton brings in Jamie’s sugar tax

October 15, 2015 | Financial Saviour

In the latest development surrounding the proposed sugar tax in the UK, it was announced at the start of last week that Brighton is officially the first British city to adopt this tax.

Last month, Financial Saviour documented the rapid rise of the sugar tax campaign by TV chef Jamie Oliver as a method of preventing children from a range of sugar-related illnesses and conditions. Oliver’s online petition gathered over 100,000 signatures from the general public in just over a week, but was subsequently rejected by the Government who stated that they had no intention of introducing a tax on sugary drinks.

But that hasn’t stopped the proactive approach of Brighton and Hove City Council.

Soon after Jamie Oliver’s petition went viral, the City Council called on all shops and businesses across the city to add a 10p sugar levy to their entire range of fizzy drinks – a tax figure that Oliver currently charges on soft drinks in his own restaurants throughout the country, with all proceeds going to the Children’s Health Fund.

Childrens_Health_Fund

This is significantly less than the tax paid on various packs of tobacco, which can reach as high as 464p per 25g pack, and similarly for high volume forms of alcohol including cider and wine, reaching up to 264p and 364p respectively.

The tax on beer is slightly less, however, with the lowest current beer tax marginally less than the proposed sugar tax at 8.1p.

Brighton and Hove City Council are hoping that this tax will go some way towards reducing the spending on diet-related diseases that have been costing the NHS in the city an approximate £80m a year in recent times.

Combined with the fact that a quarter of all children leaving primary school in Brighton were found to be either overweight or obese in a recent study, and with knowledge that teenagers are the biggest consumers of sugar in England, you can see why the City Council were so keen to take action.

This current situation also presented an ideal opportunity for the City Council to tie Jamie’s campaign in with the wider Sugar Smart City program that seeks to improve the general health of all people living in Brighton and Hove.

Are you a business in Brighton that has adopt the 10p sugar tax? Do you think other towns and cities will start to follow suit?

Financial Saviour are experts in all aspects of tax and finances. We are an experienced team who tailor our approach for every individual situation, and have a proven track record with tax payments, tax disputes, and business recovery.

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