Latest news with #sugartax
Arabian Business
4 days ago
- Business
- Arabian Business
UAE to introduce sugar tax for beverages from 2026
The UAE will introduce a new tiered sugar tax from 2026 as it looks to promote public health and reduce consumption of sugary drinks. The UAE Ministry of Finance and Federal Tax Authority (FTA) announced a major revision to the excise tax framework on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), introducing a new sugar-based tiered tax system that will take effect in early 2026. Unlike the current flat-rate model, the new system will link the tax per litre of beverage directly to its sugar content per 100ml—meaning the higher the sugar concentration, the higher the tax. UAE sugar tax This reform aligns with the UAE's national health strategy to reduce sugar consumption, combat lifestyle-related diseases, and promote healthier dietary habits among consumers. The amendment reflects a shift toward data-driven policy that incentivises manufacturers to reduce sugar levels in their products and empowers consumers to make more informed choices. It also supports regional efforts to harmonise tax policy across the Gulf and reinforces the strategic use of taxation as a tool to drive sustainable development. Developed in coordination with the Ministry of Health and Prevention, the new model is part of a long-term strategy to improve public health outcomes through fiscal legislation. Businesses—including importers, suppliers, and manufacturers—will have sufficient time to adapt, with comprehensive awareness campaigns and technical guidance set to launch ahead of the 2026 rollout. Further details, including implementing legislation and compliance requirements, will be released in the coming months.
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Labor MP's new push for a sugar tax that will affect every Australian gains momentum
The Australian Medical Association (AMA) is seeking to tax Australia out of its dueling obesity and diabetes epidemics. A sugar tax could be placed on soft drinks, sweetened juice and cordial if the government were to adopt the AMA's latest advice released this week. Macarthur MP Michael Freelander believes the new tax should be introduced alongside a broader public education effort about the harms of excess sugar. The association has called for a new tax at a rate of 50c per 100g of added sugar for each of these drinks to be paid by beverage manufacturers. This means a 375mL of normal Coke with 39.8g of sugar would be hit with a tax of 19.9c. A 600mL bottle of Berry Ice Powerade with 34.8g of sugar would incur a 17.8c levy. Some government officials have already begun championing the new suggestion and even pushing to take it further. Dr Freelander, who is a practising pediatrician, hoped the new tax would prompt drink companies to put less sugar into their drinks going forward. Labor however has shut down any idea of itself helping to push these measures forward. 'What we're now seeing is children presenting with obesity and with type two diabetes. And we should not be seeing that,' Dr Freelander said. 'We do now see lots of societal changes that are causing health problems and one of the issues is the access to highly processed foods.' 'So it's not just about drinks, it's also about making people aware of the dangers of high calorie highly-processed foods.' The Parliamentary Budget Office found in 2024 that a 20 per cent tax on sugar-sweetened beverages would boost revenue by more than $1.3bn in two years. Dr Freelander requested the costings as a means to garner support but stressed that any policies should be trialled before they were implemented. Alongside the proposed tax Dr Freelander suggested alterations to future town planning which would make it easier for children to walk to school. This combined with greater access to healthy food and less fast food outlets would go a long way towards making the country healthier, he said. AMA Vice President, Julian Rait, agreed these measures would guarantee the 'best chance' at reducing rates of obesity and chronic disease. The proposal would drive down consumption by as much as 2kg per person and increase the bottomline budget by $3.6 billion, Mr Rait said. These savings could be 'invested in other crucial preventive health measures', he added. 'For people at risk of developing type 2 diabetes, reducing sugar intake through swaps like drinking water over soft drinks can make a profound difference to their long-term health,' he told 'Last year it was revealed the sugar content in popular soft drink Fanta had increased by 60 per cent, despite industry assurances that sugary drinks were being reformulated.' Thus far Labor itself has ruled out any potential levy or tax and said it will instead seek to implement 'front-of-pack labelling' on sugary items. It will also work with companies to reduce the amount of sugar in foods, Health Minister Mark Butler said. 'There is no plan in our government for a sugar tax. We're instead focusing on education and also working with food manufacturers to reduce the amount of sugar that they put into their products,' he said in May.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Bold push for new tax on soft drink, juices
A sugar tax on soft drink, sweetened juice and cordial is being backed as a way to reduce soaring rates of obesity and diabetes. Coinciding with National Diabetes Week, the Australian Medical Association has called for a new tax at a rate of 50c per 100g of added sugar, to be paid by beverage manufacturers. Under the proposal, a standard 375mL of full-sugar Coke with 39.8g of sugar would incur a tax of 19.9c, while a 600mL bottle of Berry Ice Powerade would be hit with a 17.8c levy for its 34.8g of sugar. Macarthur MP Michael Freelander, who is also a practising pediatrician, said a levy on sugar-sweetened beverages would encourage companies to put less sugar in drinks, however a tax should be considered alongside of broader education measures. 'I think that we owe it to the next generation to try and make sure they are healthier than our generation,' he told NewsWire. 'And what we're now seeing is children presenting with obesity and with type two diabetes. And we should not be seeing that.' In 2024, costings released by the Parliamentary Budget Office and requested by Dr Freelander found a 20 per cent tax on sugar-sweetened beverages would boost revenue by more than $1.3bn in two years, however he said any policies should be trialled before further implementation. Dr Freelander stressed education was the best way to improve public health outcomes. These included town planning to ensure children could walk to schools and shopping centres and not fast food outlets, plus increased access to healthy food, like subsidies on 'certain forms of food'. 'We do now see lots of societal changes that are causing health problems and one of the issues is the access to highly processed foods,' he said. 'So it's not just about drinks, it's also about making people aware of the dangers of high calorie highly-processed foods.' The Australian Medical Association have renewed calls for a sugar tax on sweetened drinks like soft drink, juice and cordials. AMA Vice President Julian Rait said the sugar tax was the 'best chance' or reducing rates of obesity and chronic disease like type 2 diabetes. He said the proposal would drive down consumption by 2kg per person and increase the budget bottomline by $3.6bn which could be 'invested in other crucial preventive health measures'. He added that more than 100 jurisdictions have implemented a sugar tax, like the UK, France, Mexico and Ireland. 'For people at risk of developing type 2 diabetes, reducing sugar intake through swaps like drinking water over soft drinks can make a profound difference to their long-term health,' he said. 'Last year it was revealed the sugar content in popular soft drink Fanta had increased by 60 per cent, despite industry assurances that sugary drinks were being reformulated.' Health Minister Mark Butler said Labor had ruled out a potential levy or tax, and said the government's priorities were on 'front-of-pack labelling' and working with companies to reduce the amount of sugar in foods. 'There is no plan in our government for a sugar tax. We're instead focusing on education and also working with food manufacturers to reduce the amount of sugar that they put into their products,' he said in late May after the federal election. As it stands, health labels are administered by the Health Star Rating system which companies can voluntarily adhere to. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data
News.com.au
6 days ago
- Health
- News.com.au
AMA, Labor MP Michael Freelander calls for sugar tax on sweetened drinks
A sugar tax on soft drink, sweetened juice and cordial is being backed as a way to reduce soaring rates of obesity and diabetes. Coinciding with National Diabetes Week, the Australian Medical Association has called for a new tax at a rate of 50c per 100g of added sugar, to be paid by beverage manufacturers. Under the proposal, a standard 375mL of full-sugar Coke with 39.8g of sugar would incur a tax of 19.9c, while a 600mL bottle of Berry Ice Powerade would be hit with a 17.8c levy for its 34.8g of sugar. Macarthur MP Michael Freelander, who is also a practising pediatrician, said a levy on sugar-sweetened beverages would encourage companies to put less sugar in drinks, however a tax should be considered alongside of broader education measures. 'I think that we owe it to the next generation to try and make sure they are healthier than our generation,' he told NewsWire. 'And what we're now seeing is children presenting with obesity and with type two diabetes. And we should not be seeing that.' In 2024, costings released by the Parliamentary Budget Office and requested by Dr Freelander found a 20 per cent tax on sugar-sweetened beverages would boost revenue by more than $1.3bn in two years, however he said any policies should be trialled before further implementation. Dr Freelander stressed education was the best way to improve public health outcomes. These included town planning to ensure children could walk to schools and shopping centres and not fast food outlets, plus increased access to healthy food, like subsidies on 'certain forms of food'. 'We do now see lots of societal changes that are causing health problems and one of the issues is the access to highly processed foods,' he said. 'So it's not just about drinks, it's also about making people aware of the dangers of high calorie highly-processed foods.' The Australian Medical Association have renewed calls for a sugar tax on sweetened drinks like soft drink, juice and cordials. AMA Vice President Julian Rait said the sugar tax was the 'best chance' or reducing rates of obesity and chronic disease like type 2 diabetes. He said the proposal would drive down consumption by 2kg per person and increase the budget bottomline by $3.6bn which could be 'invested in other crucial preventive health measures'. He added that more than 100 jurisdictions have implemented a sugar tax, like the UK, France, Mexico and Ireland. 'For people at risk of developing type 2 diabetes, reducing sugar intake through swaps like drinking water over soft drinks can make a profound difference to their long-term health,' he said. 'Last year it was revealed the sugar content in popular soft drink Fanta had increased by 60 per cent, despite industry assurances that sugary drinks were being reformulated.' Health Minister Mark Butler said Labor had ruled out a potential levy or tax, and said the government's priorities were on 'front-of-pack labelling' and working with companies to reduce the amount of sugar in foods. 'There is no plan in our government for a sugar tax. We're instead focusing on education and also working with food manufacturers to reduce the amount of sugar that they put into their products,' he said in late May after the federal election.
The Guardian
02-07-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
UK's obesity and overweight epidemic costs £126bn a year, study suggests
The cost of the UK's epidemic of overweight and obesity has soared to £126bn a year, far higher than previous estimates, according to a study. The bill includes the costs of NHS care (£12.6bn), the years people spend in poor health because of their weight (£71.4bn) and the damage to the economy (£31bn). The calculations, by Frontier Economics for the Nesta thinktank, have prompted calls from food campaigners for ministers to take more robust action to tackle obesity, for example by extending the sugar tax from fizzy drinks to a wider range of sweet foods and beverages. Henry Dimbleby, the co-founder of the Leon restaurant chain who was commissioned by the previous Conservative government to write a report on the state of the country's food system, said: 'We've created a food system that's poisoning our population and bankrupting the state. 'This report shows that poor diet now costs the UK a shocking £126bn a year. That's not a crisis. That's a collapse.' The fact that 64% of people in Britain are overweight or obese costs the economy £31bn, Frontier found. That is enough for the government to cut income tax by 3p and is more than what is spent annually on policing in the four home nations, it added. Tim Leunig, Nesta's chief economist, said: 'Obesity has doubled since the 90s and causes a host of terrible health problems, like type 2 diabetes and cancer. 'This means obesity makes people less effective at work, forces them to take time off to manage illness or causes them to leave the workforce entirely owing to ill health.' Ministers are grappling with how to address the fact that 2.8 million people across the UK – 700,000 more than when Covid hit – are economically inactive due to illness, according to Office for National Statistics figures. In 2022, Frontier calculated the cost of obesity to be £58bn a year. It revised its estimate in 2023 to £98bn in analysis for the Tony Blair Institute. Its £126bn figure for Nesta is higher because it includes for the first time analysis of the costs of overweight as well as obesity. Kawther Hashem, the head of research at Action on Sugar, said the £126bn annual cost of obesity was staggering and should be a wake-up call. Voluntary action by the food industry to fight obesity has failed, so ministers need to impose compulsory targets on food firms, backed by financial penalties, to greatly reduce the amount of salt and sugar in their products, Hashem added. Nesta estimated the annual economic costs of being overweight and obesity to be: £71.4bn – cost of reduced quality of life and mortality. £12.6bn – financial cost of treatment for NHS. £12.1bn – from unemployment due to overweight and obesity. £10.5bn – cost of informal care. £9.7bn – lower productivity among those still working. £8.3bn – sick days due to weight-related illness. £1.2bn – cost of formal care. £700m – lost output due to weight-related early death. Katharine Jenner, the director of the Obesity Health Alliance, urged ministers to extend the sugar tax on fizzy drinks and limit the amount of sugar in baby and toddler food. Leunig said the advertising of unhealthy food should be restricted, front of pack labelling introduced and more money put into weight-loss drugs. Nesta's report said that the costs of excess weight will keep growing and could hit £150bn by 2035 without firm action to fight obesity. It states: 'Obesity-related costs are projected to keep rising over the next decade. By 2035, this report estimates the annual cost of excess weight will reach £150bn (in 2025 prices), with productivity losses alone accounting for £36.3bn a year. 'Without a meaningful policy shift to slow – let alone reverse – the growth in obesity, its impact on productivity is set to rise by 18% over the next 10 years in real terms.' Wes Streeting, the health secretary, said that more obese people in England would be able to access NHS weight management services – and weight-loss drugs – as a result of the government's 10-year plan for the NHS, which is coming out on Thursday.
