Food and drink lobby group calls for sugar tax delay

The food and drink industry in Britain has called for a delay in the government's plans to introduce a sugar tax in 2018, amid fears that the economic fallout from Brexit could stifle business in the sector.

The Food and Drink Federation, made up of sizeable industry representatives such as Coca Cola, Pepsi and Nestle, are behind the call to ease the burden on their companies by pushing back the reforms.

The legislation will introduce a levy for sugary drinks products, and was announced by Chancellor George Osborne during the budget of March 2016.

The legislation will introduce a levy for sugary drinks products

Food and drink lobbies have consistently criticised the legislation as being ineffective, and could do untold harm to businesses within the industry.

Ian Wright, the director general of the FDF, said that “government has an obligation to act quickly to support confidence and competitiveness – and to provide reassurance and stability.”

Wright said that if the policy were to go ahead, it would be an “unwelcome additional burden on a hard-pressed industry at a moment of crisis."

“It seems to me inconceivable that the small number of civil servants with expertise in excise duties within HMRC would, at this time, be working on the sugar levy and not on the replacement for the customs union,” he added.

Osborne expects that the tax will raise upwards of £520 million, which he has said will go towards funding sport in schools.