Tax all sugar

Some district health boards are asking the Government to tax sugary drinks for the sake of our health. What a good idea. I would go further and tax all sugar. It is a simple tax to administer as all the sugar we use is imported. There are few importers. A tax of $10 per kg would enable the Government to reduce income tax on the first $10,000 of income to nil.

We import around 222 million kilograms of sugar each year. So a tax at $10/kg would produce over $2 billion. This is about the amount of tax collected from the first $10,000 of income. I know which I would prefer.

While I understand the DHBs’ thoughts on sugary drinks, it is more than drinks that contribute to obesity. For a can of drink loaded with 60 grams (12 teaspoons) of sugar, the tax of $10/kg would increase the cost of the drink by 60 cents. A 20 per cent tax on sugar is not likely to produce the desired health results, in part because, other than salt, sugar is the cheapest ingredient a food manufacturer adds to products. Brian Taylor, Lynfield.