The 4.5% increase in the sugar tax announced by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana in his budget speech in February has been put on hold for 12 months.
IOL reports that industry body SA Canegrowers has welcomed Godongwana’s announcement of a 12-month delay in the increase of the health promotion levy, or sugar tax, which was originally proposed to take effect from last Friday (1 April).
“The delay is a welcome reprieve for SA’s growers, especially small-scale growers,” said the organisation’s CEO, Thomas Funke.
“In the first of year of its implementation alone, the sugar tax cost South Africa more than 16,000 jobs and R2.05bn. This is despite government failing to produce any evidence to date that the tax has had any impact on bringing down obesity levels in the country since it was introduced in 2018,” he said.
IOL article – SA Canegrowers welcome 12-month delay in sugar tax increase (Open access)
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