Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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33. To ask the Minister for Finance if he is considering measures to introduce a tax on sugar sweetened drinks, particularly in view of the related information released under freedom of information in December 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1339/16]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The proposal of a tax on sugar sweetened drinks (SSD) has been examined by my Department in the context of the 2015 and 2016 Budget process.  It was initially considered through the Tax Strategy Group (TSG) General Excise Paper in September 2014 and again September 2015.  The 2014 Tax Strategy Group paper (General Excise Duties 14.02) is available on my Department's website and the 2015 TSG paper will be published very shortly.

These papers outlined the benefits and challenges of introducing such a tax.  The benefits included, for example, the potential revenue that would be raised from such a measure and potential impact on our nation's obesity statistics as outlined in the Department of Health commissioned Health Impact Assessment 2012.  My Department also outlined challenges that must be considered before the introduction of such a tax.  These included the potential impact on retailers and domestic soft drinks producers, the difficulties in applying an excise on a product which is not defined as a product under the EU general excise directive, the challenge in differentiating between sugar sweetened and artificially sweetened products and the challenge of collecting an excise on a product which has free movement between Member States and is not subject to the controls of a bonded warehouse like other excisable products such as alcohol, tobacco and mineral oils.

As Minister for Finance, I carefully consider the positives and negatives all potential taxes in the context of the annual Budget and Finance Bill process.  While a sugar sweetened drinks tax was not introduced in the last Budget it remains under consideration.