A public policy think tank has issued a report urging the federal government to impose a tax on sugary drinks that would lift the price of a two-litre bottle of soft drink by about 80 cents.
The Grattan Institute report suggests an excise tax of 40 cents per 100 grams of sugar on all non-alcoholic, water-based drinks with added sugar.
If imposed, the tax would raise about $500 million a year in extra revenue and generate a fall of about 15 per cent in the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages as consumers switch to water and other drinks not subject to the new tax, Grattan claimed.
The report is to be released at Parliament House in Canberra today, and follows similar calls by food and beverage industry groups earlier this year.
In September, Federal Liberal MP Russell Broadbent called on the government to look at a 10 per cent tax on sugary drinks to fund sporting facilities to help combat childhood obesity and diabetes.
The Australian Food and Grocery Council, however, has said there is no evidence that taxing sugar would make an impact on obesity levels.
The debate followed the surprise decision in March by the UK government to introduce a tax on soft drinks.
At the time, Australian Beverages Council CEO Geoff Parker said a growing body of evidence from around the world demonstrated taxes on soft drink were ineffective in combating obesity.
When it comes to discretionary foods, he said, research shows soft drinks rank only seventh in kilojoule contribution, and provide a very small proportion of daily kilojoules.
“It's absurd to think this will solve obesity when soft drinks contribute just 1.7 per cent of the daily intake of kilojoules for Australian adults,” Parker said at the time.
In a joint industry statement issued this week, food and beverage industry bodies said it was "not beneficial to blame or tax a single component of the diet".
"Obesity is a serious and complex public issue with no single cause or quick-fix solution," the statement said.
"A new tax is not the way to make our nation healthier.
"The McKinsey Global Institute, for instance, classifies taxation as one of the least effective obesity interventions, with ‘No direct evidence for change in weight or change in consumption or physical activity levels’."
Recent Australian Bureau of Statistics data indicates a decline in added sugar intake over time, yet obesity rates continue to climb.
This week's statement was issued by the Australian Beverages Council, Australian Food & Grocery Council, Australian Industry Group (Ai Group) and the Canegrowers body.
