The sugar tax applies to pre-packaged soft drinks with added sugar.
It already applies to most sugary and fizzy soft drinks sold in cans, bottles and cartons in supermarkets.
Soon, it could also apply to pre-packaged sugary milk-based drinks sold in supermarkets, such as milkshakes and lattes.
Milk-based drinks have been exempt from the sugar tax because they contain calcium, which is encouraged in children and young people’s diets.
However, the high sugar content of some milk-based drinks means the government is reconsidering that exemption.
The government has consulted on introducing a ‘lactose allowance’ to account for the natural sugars in the milk content of these drinks.
All milk substitute drinks, such as soya, almond or oat drinks, were previously exempt from the sugar tax if they contained 120mg of calcium per 100ml.
But if these drinks contain added sugars beyond those derived from the main ingredient, they would now be taxed.