The UK is currently considering the introduction of the world's first Salt and Sugar Reformulation tax as part of a new National Food Strategy. According to lawmakers, this tax will help improve the nation’s eating habits, explaining that poor nutrition has a negative impact on the economy and people's health.
Households will have to pay a £3 tax ($4.16) for 1 kg of sugar and £6 ($8.32) for 1 kg of salt sold in bulk. Curiously enough, apart from making the population healthier, the government will add from £2.9 to £3.4 billion a year (up to $4.7 billion) to the Treasury. Nevertheless, lawmakers say that this measure is forced as obesity is one of the main factors of the high mortality rate in the UK nowadays. In general, poor nutrition leads to the death of about 64,000 people a year and costs the economy £74 billion ($103 billion), which is about 3.5% of GDP.
In addition, after the introduction of the new tax, companies that are engaged in the supply of food products must disclose information about the sale of fruits, vegetables, protein, and products with a high content of fat, sugar, or salt. In the draft, it is not recommended to introduce a tax on meat. However, it implies measures aimed at reducing its consumption by 30% over the next decade.
Notably, in the UK there is already a tax on sugar in carbonated soft drinks, as well as a ban on the display of snacks and soda at the checkout counters in supermarkets.
