Junk food, softdrinks tax eyed

Gov’t aims to curb people’s poor diet, raise funds for vital projects

By Julito G. Rada

THE government will push for the passage of new revenue measures that include additional taxes on sweetened beverages and junk food within the year, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said Wednesday.

The target would be to have the new tax measures take effect in 2024, so they would have until the end of the year to push for their passage, Pangandaman said.

Aside from generating additional revenues to be used for vital government projects, the higher taxes would result in better health for the people, she said.

In a statement, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said the Department of Finance (DOF) and the Department of Health (DOH) are jointly pursuing a junk food and sweetened beverage tax “as a proactive measure to tackle diabetes, obesity, and non-communicable diseases related to poor diet.”

Under the proposed tax program, the DOF plans to impose a P10 per 100 grams or P10 per 100 milliliters tax on pre-packaged foods lacking nutritional value, including confectioneries, snacks, desserts, and frozen confectioneries, that exceed the DOH’s specified thresholds for fat, salt, and sugar content.

Additionally, the DOF intends to increase the sweetened beverage tax rate under the TRAIN Law to P12 per liter, regardless of the type of sweetener used. This tax rate will be indexed