§ Mr. Milneasked the Secretary to the Treasury what is his estimate of the effect of the tax on soft drinks and aerated waters on sales; what has been the amount of tax derived from these sales; and whether this has come within the figure estimated at the time of the announcement of the tax.
§ Mr. BarberPurchase Tax charged on sales by registered traders of soft drinks78W and aerated waters between 8th May and 30th June, 1962, amounted to about £1¾ million. These receipts are in line with expectations. No figures are yet available of tax receipts from sales in later periods, since Purchase Tax is paid quarterly in arrear. I understand that production of soft drinks in the third quarter of this year was below that for 1961; but since production fluctuates for a number of reasons it is not possible to say how far this may have been due to the imposition of the Purchase Tax.