Budget: Sugar tax to be extended to milkshake and lattes Retail Pre-packaged milkshakes and lattes are set to be included in the government’s new ‘sugar tax’ as it attempts to tackle obesity in the UK. The labour government is set to end the exemption for milk-based drinks from the tax on sugary drinks, although the move would not include drinks made in cafes and restaurants. Chancellor [...]
Hotels and shops to be hit by fresh Reeves tax raid hospitality Hotels and supermarkets are set to be hit by extra taxes at the upcoming Budget as Chancellor Rachel Reeves hopes to raise more than £20bn in taxes. Reeves is planning to allow mayors to hit holidaymakers with an overnight levy on hotel and rental home stays at the Budget, opening up new cash streams for [...]
ABF: Primark owner’s shares sink as sales slow at FTSE 100 giant Retail Shares in Primark owner Associated British Foods (ABF) have plunged after posting what analysts branded a “mixed bag” of results. The FTSE 100 warned that challenging conditions were weighing on the company’s trading, listing consumer caution, geopolitical uncertainty and inflation as top factors. Shares plunged 13 per cent on the news to their lowest value [...]
Rachel Reeves to raise ‘stealth and sin’ taxes to cover black hole August 15, 2025 Rachel Reeves is set to hit British consumers with extra “sin taxes”, leading forecasters have predicted, which are widely seen as regressive taxes that could hit people on lower income. The Chancellor faces having to raise £20bn in taxes at this year’s Autumn Budget to restore her “already paltry” margin of £9.9bn in headroom, according [...]
How much does tax really affect your decision making? January 22, 2025 From VAT on school fees to business taxes, we’re living through a live experiment with the effects of tax on people’s choices. Evidence suggests the results could be far from clear-cut, says Tim Sarson Last week, I was lucky enough to be on the panel for the Women in Tax network’s annual debate. The question [...]
Danone UK boss urges government to raise fat, sugar and salt taxes June 11, 2023 The UK boss of a major food firm has called on ministers to link VAT rates to the “health credentials” of products containing fat, salt and sugar, in the first example of such a demand coming from business rather than government. James Mayer, president of Danone UK & Ireland, which sells the Actimel yoghurt drink [...]
HMRC rakes in £50bn thanks to new business taxes February 21, 2022 New research released today has revealed that HMRC has collected more than £50bn from firms in the last decade thanks to eight new business taxes. According to data from Thomson Reuters, in the past year alone, eight new taxes raised a total of £7.2bn from businesses, including £300m from its newest tax, the Soft Drinks [...]
Sugar is biggest vice for almost one in four Brits October 11, 2021 Nearly one in four Brits say sugar is their biggest vice, according to a new survey. Researchers also found more than a quarter (27 per cent) of those polled believe an addiction to sugary drinks has a detrimental effect on their health in the form of tooth decay, weight gain and dehydration. The survey also [...]
Why investors should pay attention to sugar August 14, 2020 | City Talk Government action to promote healthy eating, especially in light of the spread of Covid-19, and ongoing changes in consumer tastes will continue to create headwinds for the food and beverage industry, and increasingly for food retailers and hospitality companies too. We’ve known for decades that obesity puts people at greater risk of serious and life-threatening [...]
The sweetest thing: Ben & Jerry’s CEO on why businesses need a higher purpose January 13, 2020 What is the purpose of business? Should companies focus purely on selling their products and making money for their shareholders, or do they have a responsibility to give something back to the planet and try to do good? It’s a pertinent question, and one that has become increasingly relevant over the last decade. Nor is [...]