UK "anti-consumer" Sugar Tax could cost £1 billion to set up

In a recent article Brook Whelan from the Huffignton Post takes a closer look at the effects on the UK economy of the freshly brewed “sugar tax”, which was designed and announced by the British Government on March 16 2016 and should be put in place two years from now, in April 2018.

Whelan describes the tax as an « anti-consumer and anti-business » measure. Although he recognizes obesity to be an issue of concern, he argues that in its current form the tax is just a “gimmick” that fails to address the problem. On top of that he criticises the measure for curbing the consumer’s’ freedom of choice.

Whelan estimates that the set up costs of a sugar tax would constitute a £1 billion burden on the state finances, a « scandal » and a « complete shambles » he says, asserting that the money could be better spent elsewhere in the health service.

The articles concludes with an appeal to Chancellor Osborne and the Government to do a U-turn and scrap the tax before its implementation, recalling the pastry tax precedent.
The original article is available on the Huffington Post website.