Budget live updates: Packaged milkshakes and lattes to be included in sugar tax for first time in UK
Government could impose ‘milkshake tax’ as it tries to raise incomepublished at 09:26 GMT
In just over 24 hours, Chancellor Rachel Reeves will stand
in the House of Commons and deliver her Budget, setting out the government’s
tax and spending plans.
For weeks, Reeves was widely expected to raise income tax – which would have breached the manifesto that
saw Labour win the 2024 election by a landslide.
Then, earlier this month, government insiders changed their tune,
and said income tax would not rise after all.
Reeves, however, still needs to increase revenue if she is
to meet her own fiscal rules. And so a series of other tax rises are expected –
including a so-called milkshake tax.
It would mean the existing sugar tax, which mainly applies
to fizzy drinks, being levied on packaged milk-based drinks. That could add a few pence
to milkshakes, plus milk-based coffees – and even protein shakes.
Or – as has happened with some fizzy drinks – manufacturers may
lower their sugar content to avoid the tax.
Although Reeves’s big statement is tomorrow, it’s thought the
sugar tax could be announced today by Health Secretary Wes Streeting. Stay with
us for the latest news and analysis.
