The Government is planning a ‘milkshake tax’ to tackle childhood obesity
BRITS face a new “fat tax” on milkshakes under extraordinary new Government plans, The Sun can reveal.
Officials want to extend the Sugar Tax onto more of Britain’s favourite treats in a bid to combat childhood obesity.
Bombshell proposals buried in a new Green Paper warn that the soft drinks levy will be “extended to sugary milk drinks” if manufacturers don’t change their recipes to make them healthier.
It comes a year after Jamie Oliver demanded Theresa May act – telling MPs a Strawberry Yazoo contained nine teaspoons of sugar.
He called for prices to go up by 12p for every half-litre bottle – a near 10 per cent rise.
The new proposals are outlined in a paper drawn up by Health Ministers to consider ways to improve kids’ health and tackle air quality.
But sources said the idea of a new tax was inserted by policy chiefs at No.10 – causing a huge behind-the-scenes row in Whitehall.
The paper claims the Soft Drinks Levy (SDIL) has led to the removal of “45,000 tons of sugar from our shelves”.
It adds: “So far we have not included sugary milk drinks within this ‘tax’.
“However these drinks can also contribute to our sugar and calorie intake.
“Therefore if evidence shows that the industry has not made enough progress on reducing sugar, we will extend the SDIL to sugary milk drinks.”
HAMMER LOW-INCOME FAMILIES
Furious watchdogs urged the Tories to think again – saying the new tax would hammer low-income families.
Chris Snowdon of the Institute of Economic Affairs said: “The Conservative Party should elect Jamie Oliver as their leader and be done with it.
“Barely a year after Mr Oliver called for the sugar tax to be extended, the government is once again dancing to his tune.
“This is yet another cash grab that will hit the poorest hardest.
"The government should start putting consumers first, and Jamie Oliver should mind what’s left of his business.”
The Sugar Tax came into force in April last year - pushing up prices of best-selling drinks such as Coca Cola and Lucozade by as much as 24p per litre.
Ex-Chancellor George Osborne boasted the tax would raise £500 million a year but the Treasury has been forced to slash revenue estimates as producers cut sugar levels.
The new proposals will spark fears of a wider ‘Nanny State’ blitz.
Public Health England in January called for a ‘Pudding Tax’ on cakes, biscuits and sugary snacks.
At the time Treasury chief secretary Liz Truss blasted PHE – saying she was against “measures that put up the cost of living for people”.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock separately argued against minimum pricing on booze.
Speaking at the start of the year, he said it was time to stop “punishing” everybody by issuing diktats to the entire nation.
The Sun Says
WE are sick of Theresa May trying to inflict damaging policies on her successor to establish a “legacy” in her last days.
Her new milkshake tax must be thrown out. There is no credible case for it.
The Government says the fizzy drinks levy “succeeded” because makers cut sugar in their recipes. Rubbish. The sole point was to make people less fat, and it hasn’t. If it’s failed on that, it’s failed.
Spreading this folly to milkshakes compounds the stupidity.
Voters will flock to a new Tory PM who champions consumer choice and puts nanny state zealots back in their box.
It’s a sweet prospect.
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