Newfoundland And Labrador Introduce New Sugar Tax Coming In 2022

Sugar has always been an issue among our younger population and in an effort to boost health outcomes, Newfoundland and Labrador announced details of what it says will be the country’s first tax specifically targeting surgery drinks.

The tax will hike prices on drinks with added sugars by 20 cents a litre beginning in September 2022. The government expects the tax to bring in roughly $9 million a year. The tax will be applied on top of any provincial sales tax.

Ready-to-drink beverages, concentrated drink mixtures and dispensed beverages like slushies and fountain sodas will all be subject to the tax. Consumers will pay an extra 20 cents per litre or, in the case of concentrates, 20 cents per every litre that can be produced after mixing.

Finance Minister Siobhan Coady says, “Over half of Newfoundlanders and Labradorian residents aged 12 years of age and over have at least one chronic disease, and many people live with more than one.”