Webinar: Design and Impact of Sugar-Sweetened Taxes Beverage Taxes: The Case of South Africa

In 2018, South Africa implemented the Health Promotion Levy, an excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) aimed at reducing obesity and the associated increased risk of diabetes, heart disease and cancer. South Africa uses an innovative tax design with both a sugar-content based specific tax as well as a sugar-content based tax threshold. This system is designed to generate incentives for manufacturers to reformulate SSBs and reduce the sugar content, thereby reducing their tax liability.

This event will discuss and disseminate recent work from South African researchers evaluating the impact of the tax, highlighting evidence on reformulation, tax administration and health, and the policy process. Participants will learn about successes and challenges, and gain a more comprehensive understanding of the nuances around implementing taxes with similarly complex tax structure.