The bittersweet extension of sugar tax to pure juice

It was recently announced that South Africa’s Health Promotion Levy (HPL) on sugary beverages was to be extended to pure juice. The South African government is expected to publish a discussion paper on the levy soon. This is intended to aid consultation on the proposals to extend the levy to pure fruit juices and lower the four-gram threshold. This means that after public consultation, a levy may be charged on 100% juice. The main objective of the sugary beverage levy, as stipulated by South Africa’s HPL policy, is to decrease incidents of diabetes and obesity. However, it has had a negative impact on the South African sugar industry, with thousands of jobs lost since the tax was implemented.

Source Baker & McKenzie