Sugar tax could be applied to milkshakes to tackle obesity
The sugar tax currently imposed on soft drinks could be applied to milkshakes as the government seeks to crack down on rising obesity levels.
The government has opened a consultation to extend the tax to pre-packaged drinks containing at least 75% milk, including non-dairy substitutes with added sugar such as oat, soy, almond and rice milk.
This will include pre-packaged cans of latte, flavoured milkshake drinks and cartons of milk alternatives bought in supermarkets.
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The tax could be extended to include non-dairy substitutes with added sugar. Pic: iStock
Ministers also want to lower the minimum amount of sugar allowed before the tax is applied in these drinks, as well as in fizzy drinks already included in the tax – known formally as the Soft Drinks Industry Levy.
Extending the tax will hit 203 pre-packaged milk-based drinks currently available – 93% of sales, Department of Health analysis found.
The original sugar tax on soft drinks was introduced in 2018 under the Conservative government and has led to a 46% reduction in sugar in those drinks, with 89% of soft drinks sold in the UK now not paying the tax due to reformulation.
Modelling studies have found this may have prevented thousands of cases of childhood obesity and cut down on tooth decay.
However, the government said UK sugar intakes remain about double the recommended level, which is why Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced in the October budget there would be a consultation to extend it.
The sugar tax was introduced in 2018. Pic: Reuters
The proposals are:
• To reduce the minimum sugar content at which the tax applies from 5g to 4g of sugar per 100ml
• To include milk-based drinks – but with a “lactose allowance” to account for milk’s natural sugars
• To also include milk substitute drinks with added sugars.
The government says this could reduce daily calorie intake by 1.2kcal in 19-64 year olds and 2.1kcal in 11-18 year olds to achieve health and economic benefits of around £4.2bn over 25 years.
The Treasury’s tax department, which carried out the analysis, said that was an average over each age group, with many people not consuming the drinks at all.
Drinks that would come under the new proposal include: Starbucks Caramel Macchiato Iced Coffee (8.2g sugar/100ml), Shaken Udder Vanillalicious milkshake (8.4g sugar/100ml), Yazoo Strawberry Milk Drink (9.6g sugar/100ml), Alpro Soya Chocolate long life drink (7.6g sugar/100ml), Califia Farms Matcha Latte (4.3g sugar/100ml), Oatly Oat Drink Chocolate Deluxe (6.8g sugar/100ml).
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‘Sucker punch’ to stretched families
The Conservatives said the extension is a “sucker punch” to households when Labour had “already pushed up the cost of living for families”.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage told the BBC he was “sick to death of a government telling us how we should live” and said they should focus on educating people who can then make healthy decisions.
Currently, the sugar tax is charged at £1.94 per 10 litres on drinks with 5g to 7.9g sugar per 100ml and £2.59 per 10 litres for drinks with 8g or more sugar per 100ml.
For the 2023/2024 financial year, the sugar tax brought in about £338m, with 95% paid on drinks containing 8g or more sugar per 100ml.
Milk and milk substitute-based drinks have been exempt from the sugar tax over concerns one in five teenage girls did not get enough calcium in their drinks.
However, milk-based drinks only provide up to 3.5% of calcium for children aged 11 to 18 years, compared with 25% from plain milk and 38% from cereal products, including fortified white bread.
Calls for sugar tax on food
Industry body, the Food and Drink Federation, welcomed the consultation and said “significant progress” had already been made in reducing sugar in soft drinks and pre-packed milk drinks in the last three years.
It added manufacturers are facing a series of pressures and called on the government to “create the right conditions for businesses to innovate and also be clear about their long-term goals to promote business confidence”.
Charity The Food Foundation also welcomed the consultation but said the government needs to be more ambitious and include food in the sugar tax “if the government is serious about improving diets, our health and the economy”.
The consultation will run from 28 April until 21 July, with businesses, charities and individuals encouraged to let their views be known.
Voting is under way in local elections across England, as well as in the Runcorn and Helsby by-election.
Due to Ofcom rules, Sky News is limited on what it can report until polls close at 10pm.
The votes mark the first electoral test for the party leaders since last year’s general election.
In total, 23 of England’s 317 local authorities are holding elections, alongside the Isles of Scilly.
The make up of around 1,270 parish councils are also due to be decided.
Read more:
Follow local elections results here
Where are they and how do I vote?
And six metro mayors are up for election.
The West of England, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Doncaster, and North Tyneside mayoralties already have a mayor in place – while Greater Lincolnshire and Hull and East Yorkshire are choosing a mayor for the first time.
Meanwhile, a by-election is being held in Runcorn and Helsby after previous Labour MP Mike Amesbury agreed to stand down following his conviction for punching a man in the street.
While this result is likely to come in overnight, most local election results won’t be known until Friday.
All voters in these elections must be over 18, and be registered.
Join Sky News presenter Jonathan Samuels and deputy political editor Sam Coates from midnight as the results start coming in. Lead politics presenter Sophy Ridge, political editor Beth Rigby, and data and economics editor Ed Conway will be taking over on Friday to report and explain what has happened.
North Carolina’s House of Representatives has passed a bill allowing the state’s treasurer to invest public funds in approved cryptocurrencies, which will now head to the Senate.
The House passed the Digital Assets Investment Act, or House Bill 92, on its third reading on April 30 by a vote of 71 to 44.
Republican House Speaker Destin Hall introduced the bill in February, which would allow the treasurer to allocate 5% of the state’s investments into designated digital assets.
The investments can only be made after obtaining an independent third-party assessment confirming that the crypto holdings are maintained with a secure custody solution and risk oversight and regulatory compliance standards are met.
New amendments allow the treasurer to examine the feasibility of allowing members of retirement and deferred compensation plans to elect to invest in digital assets held as exchange-traded products (ETPs).
The House also passed a related bill, the State Investment Modernization Act, or HB 506, with little discussion on April 30, in a 110 to 3 vote.
The bill aims to create the North Carolina Investment Authority (NCIA) to take over investment management from the treasurer.
If passed into law, authority to invest in digital assets would transfer from the treasurer to NICA, and it would require approval from its board of directors based on third-party assessments to make crypto investments.
Local news outlet NC Newsline reported that Treasurer Brad Briner supports both bills.
Arizona leads the crypto bill race
North Carolina is second to Arizona in the state-level race to approve legislation allowing local governments to invest in cryptocurrencies.
Related: New Hampshire Bitcoin reserve bill heads to full Senate vote
On April 28, Arizona’s House approved two bills, SB 1025 and SB 1373, proposing different methods for the state to establish a crypto reserve.
Arizona is the only state whose House and Senate have passed crypto-related bills, which are both awaiting Governor Katie Hobbs’ decision.
Magazine: ZK-proofs unlock trillions in Bitcoin for DeFi — BitcoinOS and Starknet
Nearly 30 crypto advocate groups led by the lobby group the Crypto Council for Innovation (CCI) have asked the Securities and Exchange Commission for clear regulatory guidance on crypto staking and staking services.
The CCI’s Proof of Stake Alliance (POSA) group argued in an April 30 letter to the agency’s Crypto Task Force lead, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, that staking is fundamentally a technical process, not an investment activity.
“Staking isn’t niche — it’s the backbone of the decentralized internet,” the letter said.
The letter responded to the SEC’s call for public input on whether staking and liquid staking, where crypto users lock up their tokens to earn more, should be regulated under federal securities laws.
The coalition called for the SEC to support responsible inclusion of staking features in exchange-traded products (ETPs), and “avoid overly prescriptive rules that could freeze market structures and stifle innovation in the staking space.”
The group argued that staking fails to meet the securities-defining Howey test definition of an “investment contract” as stakers retain ownership of their assets.
They added that blockchain protocols, not a staking provider’s efforts, determine rewards, and providers don’t deliver profits through managerial decisions like a company does.
The letter requested that the SEC Issue principles-based guidance similar to recent SEC staff statements on proof-of-work mining.
“In the past 4 months, we’ve seen more movement and constructive dialogue with the SEC than in the past 4 years,” the group said. “Now, the industry is stepping up with concrete principles to include in guidance — a reflection of this new collaborative approach.”
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The group argued that the existing securities disclosure regime is ill-suited for staking services, which are fundamentally technical rather than financial in nature.
Big names in support of staking clarity
The Proof of Stake Alliance includes several high-profile crypto organizations and companies, including the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), blockchain software firm Consensys, and the crypto exchange Kraken, which restored staking services in the US earlier this year.
The SEC has yet to approve a crypto staking exchange-traded fund (ETF) and delayed the decision on allowing staking for Grayscale’s spot Ether ETF on April 14.
In April, Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart predicted that an Ether ETF that includes staking could come as soon as May.
Magazine: ZK-proofs unlock trillions in Bitcoin for DeFi — BitcoinOS and Starknet
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