A campaign for a £100m tax break on smoothies looks set to fail as the Treasury dashes hope for lower VAT on the healthy drinks.
The British Soft Drinks Association and producer Innocent Smoothies are campaigning for a reduction of VAT on fruit juice from 17.5% to 5%. They say it is illogical for healthy drinks to attract the top VAT rate while burgers and chips are zero-rated. It believes the current VST rate deters sales and contradicts the government’s health policy of promoting fruit and vegetable intake.
A Treasury spokesman said the government was “not minded” to grant the reduction because eating a cheap apple for a few pence was a more efficient way to improve health than a smoothie costing one or two pounds. It also said most smoothie buyers were “more affluent” than those lower social classes who diets really needed help.
The Independent 7/7/07 page 23
