The government is eyeing to push for a junk food and sweetened beverage tax package which will generate an additional revenue of P76 billion during the first year of implementation.
Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno told reporters that the departments of finance (DOF) and health (DOH) are jointly pushing for this proposal as a proactive measure to tackle diabetes, obesity, and non-communicable diseases related to poor diet.
Diokno said that 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.
Diokno said that this tax rate would be indexed annually by four percent, and exemptions will be eliminated to broaden the tax base.
These measures aim to strengthen the effectiveness of the sweetened beverage tax by further discouraging the consumption of such beverages, Diokno said.
“The tax package is estimated to result in a 21 percent reduction in consumption of junk food,” he added.
Diokno said incremental revenues from this tax package would fund important socio-economic programs initiated by the administration, such as the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s food stamp program.
This program will provide support to one million food-poor households, to alleviate food insecurity and malnutrition.