The Irish Beverage Council has called on the government to defer the proposed sugar-sweetened drink tax, according to its pre-Budget submission, 'All cost - No benefit', which it published yesterday (3 September.)
The Ibec group that represents soft drinks companies, said that the combination of cross border shopping, uncertain all-island trade post-Brexit and the increasing cost of the weekly shop through new consumer taxes, all threaten to facilitate a 'perfect storm'.
"With the euro in our pockets now buying more against the Sterling, Irish shoppers are increasingly heading North. The Minister for Finance must defer his plan for higher taxes on our weekly shop." Colm Jordan, Irish Beverage Council Director said.
Jordan forecasted that 11% of sugar sweetened drink sales, will be lost to cross-border shopping and the 'unofficial grey market'.
“In the past 34 months the Department of Finance has changed how much they predict the tax will raise on five separate occasions. The prediction fell 53% between April and July alone. This shows there is uncertainty about how the tax will work." He added.
“We accept the Government's sincerity in addressing the complex societal issue of obesity, and we are fully committed to playing our part."
He highlighted that soft drinks companies have been reducing sugar content for 30 years and that 10 billion calories has been taken out out of the Irish diet each year between 2005 and 2012, through voluntary sugar reduction.
"We will go further and continue this investment in innovation, reducing sugar content while increasing our no sugar and low sugar offerings." He said.
© 2017 - Checkout Magazine by Donna Ahern
