The potential new levy is part of a variety of proposed taxes, which aim to lift Mexico out of its current economic slowdown and boost social programs to help out the country’s poorer citizens.
According to figures from Euromonitor International, Mexico is the second biggest consumer of soda, per year, in the world. The Southern American country is currently the most obese country in the Western hemisphere too, with a recent study by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization reporting a 32.8% obesity rate among Mexican adults, compared to a rate of 31.8% among adults in the United States.
Under Mexico’s proposed new sugary beverage tax, sugar sweetened soda would be taxed one peso per litre. The Mexican government believes this toll would bring in over $900 million a year in revenue.
Commenting on the recent proposals, head of consumer watchdog group Consumer Power Alejandro Calvillo said: “It’s good that there would be a tax. We have to acknowledge that. But to have a significant impact on consumption of sugary drinks, assessments show that it should be a 20% tax.”
Mexico’s soft drink bottling association director Emilio Herrera was less sympathetic of the potential new tax however, saying: “You can’t single out a particular product as the cause of this problem.”
Source: Wall Street Journal/Seattle Times
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