A study of the behavioural Impact of the imposition of a tax

Abstract

Obesity and overweight caused by overconsumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (‘SSBs’) are a problem in South Africa, as in most countries. It was for this reason that the Minister of Finance announced in the February 2016 Budget a decision to introduce a tax on SSBs with effect from 1 April 2017 to help reduce excessive sugar intake and tackle non-communicable diseases. Previously, South Africa had introduced similar legislation but abolished it in April 2002 after a nine-year period (BDO, 2012.) In order to determine the impact of the sugar tax in South Africa, the sugar tax was compared to similar taxes implemented in other tax jurisdictions, namely, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Mexico and Denmark, and also to other similar taxes levied in South Africa. The question which the research addressed is whether a sugar tax could be used as a tool to decrease the rising rate of obesity in South Africa and therefore to improve the general health of South Africans (effective tax). The tax on SSBs may have its shortcomings but, depending upon the administrative and support structures put in place to deal with it, it will be an effective tax. In other words, the introduction of a sugar tax should reduce overweight and obesity.