The sugar tax is a bugbear that hovers over the Italian beverage sector. This is a sword of Damocles, which provides for “an increase in taxation of 28% which, after more than one postponement, should now come into force starting from January 1, 2022, with the aim of inducing all producers to limit the ‘use of sugar and sweeteners “, recalls Il Messaggero. A possible coup de grace for the consumption of soft drinks which, according to Nomisma data, in Italy in 2020 fell by 8.4%, mainly due to the contraction in consumption outside the home, which in 2020 marked a decline 35% compared to the previous year (the entire sector of restaurants, hotels, bars lost the monstrous figure of 34.4 billion).
“A study by Nomisma – says Giangiacomo Pierini, president of Assobibe a The messenger – demonstrates the devastating economic and social effects of the introduction of a tax worth 10 euros / hectolitre in an already uncertain moment. “The market, in fact, could suffer a dangerous contraction of 16% and remove liquidity from companies with “a new gabelle to be paid at the end of the month which translates into greater difficulties and fewer investments. A nefarious trend that will undermine the recovery and the return to pre-Covid consumption. “According to Nomisma, due to the sugar tax, domestic consumption will drop by 17% (-12% for carbonated drinks and -30% for non-carbonated drinks). Consequently, the entrepreneurs of the sector indicate the number of employees who could lose their jobs due to the reduction in turnover at 5 thousand.