PRETORIA: South Africa’s Treasury has put forward its plan to see sugary drinks slapped with a tax of as much as 20 percent per bottle. Late last week the Treasury of South Africa published a policy paper discussing the proposed implementation of a tax on the sale of sugar sweetened beverages, as a measure aimed at curbing the spread of obesity and related health issues.
In its policy paper the Treasury suggested that such a tax should be levied on any beverages that contain any added caloric sweeteners, including sucrose, high-fructose corn syrup, or fruit-juice concentrate.
The drinks which would fall under the scope of the tax include soft drinks, fruit drinks, energy drinks, vitamin water, and iced tea, but would not include drinks like natural juices and unsweetened milk products. The suggested rate for the new tax is SAR 0.0229 per gram of sugar identified on the nutritional label. The tax will typically result in a tax of approximately 20 percent on most standard drinks. Products which contain added sugars but do not have nutritional label would be taxed based on assumed sugar content of 50 grams per 330 ml.
