‘JOB LOSSES AND NOMINAL EFFECT’
Drinks makers release study to challenge planned sugar tax
Econex says demand for sugar-sweetened drinks is inelastic, consumption will not fall as sharply as the policy paper predicts, and there will consequently be a smaller health impact
Local beverage manufacturers have fired a fresh salvo in their campaign against the government’s plans to impose a tax on sugary drinks, releasing research that casts doubt on the science underpinning Treasury’s policy position. The state plans to introduce a tax on sugar-sweetened drinks from April 1 2017 to combat obesity and its associated health risks. Treasury has proposed a tax of 2.29c per gram of added sugar, roughly a 20% tax on the average price per litre of sugary drinks. It says the tax should reduce the number of obese adults by about 220,000. The Beverage Association of SA (BevSA) commissioned research from independent consultancy Econex. It was released on Tuesday — two days before the industry is expected to meet Treasury and Department of Health officials to discuss the proposed tax. Econex’s research challenges a key study cited by Treasury in its policy paper on the sugar tax, saying it assumed consumer demand for sugar-sweetened drinks was elastic and would fall ...
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