Dangerous boom in counterfeit pop ‘will threaten UK once sugar tax comes into force’
Experts have warned of a black market boom once the government's planned sugar tax comes into force
The government's planned sugar tax will spark a dangerous boom in counterfeit fizzy drinks, top experts warned today.
An "illegal market will open up as tobacco-style regulation is extended to alcohol, food and soft drinks", according to the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA).
Top wonk Chris Snowdon will use a no holds barred speech to the Global Tobacco and Nicotine Forum in Belgium today to say "HMRC admit that much as £5.4 billion" is being lost by the taxman due to booze and fag smuggling and fakes.
Mr Snowdon told The Sun: "There is no reason that the same problem won't arise when taxes are slapped on fizzy drinks."
He added: "The amount HMRC has raised from tobacco duty has gone down in the last three years - the first sustained drop for decades - despite taxes going up."
In a speech in Brussels, Mr Snowdon will warn: ‘It is well established that sin taxes on alcohol lead to tax evasion, home-brewing and illegal sales.
"Sin taxes on soft drinks are just beginning, and the British government anticipates a new illicit market opening up as a result, which raises the question: why do it?
"As tobacco-style labelling begins to appear on alcohol, food, and soft drinks, we are moving ever closer towards Public Health’s ultimate aim of plain packaging, and taxing the poor out of the market.
RELATED STORIES
"Regulators in Brussels and in governments around the world may not be Big Tobacco, Alcohol, Soda, or Food’s best friends, but they most certainly are the black market’s."
He added: "They punish legitimate businesses, and drive unsuspecting customers in to the hands of criminals."
The governments's Office of Budget Responsibility warned in March that the planned sugary drinks levy will create an "incentive for increased cross-border shopping and illicit trade."
