Sugar Tax Debate

A high profile reformer has called on the Scottish Government to implement a Sugar Tax to fund a 2p Income Tax cut.

The former chair of the think tank Reform Scotland, Ben Thomson has called for a sugar tax to pay for a proposed 2p cut in income tax in Scotland, reckoning such a tax could raise £660m per year.

Some members of the dental profession have responded that this tax could instead be used to fund NHS dentistry in Scotland, using the argument that since the consumption of refined sugar is the primary cause of dental disease, this would be in keeping with the principle that ‘the polluter pays’.