POLL OF THE DAY: Do you agree with the Government's new 'grocery tax' in order to hit net zero targets? - VOTE NOW
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Shopping bills are set to be driven up by a new "grocery tax" designed to accomplish the Government’s net zero targets.
According to the Government’s calculations, ministers have been accused of "quietly" passing legislation that will see as much as £56 added to household costs annually, reports The Telegraph.
Under the scheme, retailers and manufacturers will be charged more for using plastic wrapping than for using paper or cardboard. The green levy would be charged per tonne of packaging materials used.
However, critics have warned that the measure will "push up food costs for every family" while imposing red tape on businesses.
READ IN FULL: 'Grocery tax' to hike Britons' shopping bills by £56 in Labour net zero 'inflation boost'
The new tax will lead to “retail sales increases of around £1.4 billion” in the first year, according to an impact assessment of the incoming policy, published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
Conservative peer and chair of the Net Zero Scrutiny Committee Lord McKinlay told The Telegraph: "The rapidly introduced, yet little noticed ‘grocery tax’ legislation has quietly landed.
"It heaps more than a billion pounds of new and unnecessary costs on consumers, but as ever when government departments estimate implementation costs, these are often hopelessly underplayed.
"It needs to be called out for what it is: yet another net zero tax which adds to consumer cost inflation, and further adds to the administrative burden on UK businesses. Another growth-destroying measure by an inept government."
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