The role of regressive sugar tax in the soft drink industry levy (SDIL): a Marxist analysis

Amanda Young, Kieran James, Abeer Hassan*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)
57 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Simmering beneath the bubbles of your regular soft drink are the issues of social class, subjugation, and social injustice. Sugar is a commodity and it is this component when added to soft drinks that now attracts a taxation liability under the Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) which was introduced in the UK in April 2018. In this critical taxation article, we argue that the UK’s capitalist state is using the excuse of concern with workers’ health to justify taxing a commodity, which is at best an authoritarian attempt to manage people’s behaviour to make it more conducive to capitalism, but will fail; add to economic inequality and inequity; and is therefore, morally delinquent.
Original languageEnglish
Article number102326
Number of pages14
JournalCritical Perspectives on Accounting
Volume88
Early online date28 May 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Oct 2022

Keywords

  • critical taxation
  • Lenin
  • Marxism
  • Marxist Theory of the State
  • obesity
  • sugar sweetened beverages
  • sugar
  • sugar tax

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