South Africa is the latest country to have slapped taxes on sugar-sweetened drinks in a bid to reduce consumption and slow an increase in health epidemics such as diabetes and obesity.
The South African government said last week that it will start to collect a levy of 2.1 cents per gram of sugar on drinks where sugar content is above 4 grams per 100 milliliters from April 2018.
The Sri Lankan government’s 2018 budget presented to parliament last month by Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera proposed to introduce an excise duty of 50 cents per gram of sugar contained in beverages. Though many here in Sri Lanka opposed the tax, this bold move by the Minister is sure to discourage unhealthy diets and offset the growing economic costs of obesity as well as diabetes.
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