Sugar tax to arrive next April

A SUGAR tax on fizzy drinks will be introduced at the start of April 2018 to coincide with the introduction of a similar tax in the UK, the Department of Finance has confirmed.

Reports had emerged over the weekend, suggesting that the Government had yet to formally notify the European Union of its intention to introduce the tax next year, raising fresh doubts about when it would go ahead.

But Health Minister Simon Harris said yesterday: ‘Michael Noonan announced a sugar tax in last year’s Budget and I expect that the Finance Minister is likely to recommit to that on Budget Day.

‘It is the intention of the Government in introducing any such tax to align the introduction date with the introduction date of that tax in the UK and Northern Ireland.’

The Department of Finance confirmed yesterday that the tax was currently being developed for introduction at the beginning of April.

Mr Harris said he wanted the levy to ‘change behaviours’ and the content of our food, and denied that the sugar tax was being brought in with the priority of generating taxation revenue.

He added: ‘As Minister for Health, I want to see a sugar tax that changes behaviours, rather than generates income.

‘What we have seen is a number of our companies moving towards reformulation, towards actually producing food with less sugar content.’

While it was originally estimated that up to €200million could be generated in the new tax, this has now fallen to €40million as soft-drinks companies reformulate products to avoid the levy.

It is also now expected that the tax will be applied at a rate of 10 cent for every 330ml sweetened drink.