A critical analysis of sugar tax in South Africa
Date
2022-03-30
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Witswatersrand, Johannesburg
Abstract
Globally the major leading cause of death is associated with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and increasing in both First and Third World countries, including South Africa. The change from traditional to processed food, more energy-dense food, sugar-based drinks, more added salt, fat and sugar, are all referred to as the ‘western diet’. The transition of the food environment has been associatedwith individual influences such as behaviors, knowledge and attitudes. Globally the consumption of sugar-based drinks has increased at an alarming rate and major non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are associated with the excessive intake of sugar. One of the global health risks is obesity. In creating food environments that are healthy, international jurisdictions formulate policies and environmental interventions as an effective tool. Taxes have been employed to stabilise a downturn in the market and change the price, which have affected consumers’ purchasing decisions. In this report, sugar tax was critically analysed by evaluating the impact of the tax on the market, employment, imports and exports. Several policy design options of taxing sugar-based drinks as formulated and introduced by the World Health Organization (WHO) and The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) were compared. In order to determine the sustainability of the policy design option implemented by South Africa, the policy design option was compared to that implemented by other jurisdictions namely, the United States of America, Mexico and Denmark. The opponents of sugar tax challengedthe implementation of initiatives and utilization of income generated from sugar
tax in South Africa
Description
A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Commerce (specialisation in Taxation).
Keywords
UCTD, Obesity, Diabetes, Non-communicable diseases, Sugar, Sugar sweetened beverages, United States of America, South Africa