Higher tax on sugary drinks aims to control consumption

[snoop1130]

Higher tax on sugary drinks aims to control consumption

By The Nation

 

 

The Excise Department has announced that taxes on sugary drinks will double from October 1, with beverages containing 10 to 14 grams of sugar being taxed at Bt1 per 100 millilitres instead of Bt0.5 per 100ml, adding that this tax will not be passed on to consumers despite the higher cost of production. 

 

Nattakorn Utensut, the department’s deputy spokesman, said most producers of sweet beverages had not reduced the sugar content out of fear of losing customers, instead many have just launched new, less-sweet versions of their drinks. 

 

The new tax will boost the overall tax revenue to Bt3.5 billion to Bt4.5 billion from the current collection of Bt2 billion to Bt3 billion annually.

 

Taxes on sugary drinks will also be doubled every two years. For instance, from October 1, 2021, beverages containing 10g to 14g of sugar will be taxed Bt3 per 100ml before rising to Bt5 in 2023. This progressive increase in tax rate is expected to force manufacturers to cut down on the amount of sugar in their beverages. 

 

Though the tax was first imposed in October 2017, only one manufacturer reduced the sugar content in its products, while others only responded by launching new, less-sweet products.

 

Nattakorn said most people are still not aware of the health risks associated with sugar, adding that only two groups of people – those below 30 in age and those over 60 are cautious about consuming beverages with high sugar content. People of working age still prefer sugary drinks, he said.

 

He added that now more producers have started specifying the sugar content and other ingredients in the labels on their products, adding that these specifications are now provided in as many as 200 to 300 items, up from just 60 to 70 items before.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/business/30375992

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2019-09-09

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[Thaiwrath]

4 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

The new tax will boost the overall tax revenue to Bt3.5 billion to Bt4.5 billion from the current collection of Bt2 billion to Bt3 billion annually.

More revenue for the present government to squander or pocket.

[Cadbury]

9 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

The new tax will boost the overall tax revenue to Bt3.5 billion to Bt4.5 billion from the current collection of Bt2 billion to Bt3 billion annually.

False News just in!

Because sugar producers will lose substantial revenue from the drop in sugar usage in soda and other drinks the Government will need to provide subsidies to sugar growers to the value of Bt4.5 billion. 

[mok199]

I'm getting that warm fuzzy feeling all over , mabey they really do care.....

[trainman34014]

''The Tax will not be passed on to the consumers''.     If you believe that then you believe Pixies exist !

[fforest1]

I say tax the hell out of those sugar drinkers.....It does not bother me I am just a smoker,beer drinker and plastic bag user....

Edited September 9, 2019 by fforest1

[Yinn]

[Chang_paarp]

I wonder what the beer industry thinks of this? While they do not consider themselves the sellers of sugary drinks they will come under the range of taxes outlined on the OP.

Did they give permission to the government to raise this tax?

[Blue Muton]

Well its a pretty pointless exercise unless and until they get the wholesalers and retailers on board as the price in the shops is usualy the same for Coke and Coke Zero despite the previous tax, so it has zero effect on customer behaviour at the point of sale.

[quadperfect]

Is this because thai people cant think for themselves? Or because a government that cant think of anything better to charge the people.

This place is crazy

[neeray]

That extra billion, and more coming in subsequent years, will come in handy when buying more "equipment" to fight that growing terrorism threat.

[nickstav]

So much negativity. While I don't particularly think this tactic will have much influence on sugar consumption it does point out a societal health problem, not just here in Thailand, but worldwide. I hope any extra tax revenue would go toward educating young people about the health dangers of excess sugar consumption. 

[jerojero]

Yep, right up there with China is paying the USA tariffs. And Mexico will pay for the Trump Wall.

''The Tax will not be passed on to the consumers''.     If you believe that then you believe Pixies exist !

[bangkokbrain]

Education, education, education, oh and making sugar-free versions of sodas more available.

[robblok]

If they use the tax to educate people and if there are sugar free alternatives then this is a good thing. The amount of overweight Thais is rising. Soon it will be as bad as in farang countries, lets hope it never gets as bad as in the US.

 

Not many are health conscious though I see some Thais and foreigners that are in the gym. Still a minority but at leas they are there. I also see a lot of Thais exercising in the park next to me. But is see some real fat Thais and foreigners who don't care one bit. 

 

It their choice to be fat as long as they don't complain about it and say how impossible it is to lose weight I am ok with it. Everyone has the right to abuse their body how they see fit. Eating healthy and exercising can be hard work at times. Certainly less fun as stuffing yourself with whatever you like.

[robblok]

8 hours ago, Yinn said:

Say whatever you wan Yinn, but it is becoming a problem in Thailand i see far more fat Thais then I did when I arrived here. I am happy they are trying to do something about it. Now if there were more sugar free alternatives it would be a good thing.

[pattjock]

A can of Coke has 39g of sugar. At 5Baht tax per 100ml this would make the total tax on a can of Coke 15Baht. I'm pretty sure a can of coke is less than 15Baht so how does this work?

 

Orange juice, apple juice and many others have the same amount of sugar as Coke, are they being taxed as well?

[madmitch]

7 minutes ago, pattjock said:

A can of Coke has 39g of sugar. At 5Baht tax per 100ml this would make the total tax on a can of Coke 15Baht. I'm pretty sure a can of coke is less than 15Baht so how does this work?

 

Orange juice, apple juice and many others have the same amount of sugar as Coke, are they being taxed as well?

Imagine the price of a bottle of Hales Blue Boy Syrup in a few years with these compounding tax rates!

 

But it's also the sugar in noodles, curries, sweet tea and coffee, condensed milk etc. I really don't believe that table published by Yinn.

[hotchilli]

11 hours ago, trainman34014 said:

''The Tax will not be passed on to the consumers''.     If you believe that then you believe Pixies exist !

If the manufacturers take the hit the sugar drinks will still be available.

If the price of 1 baht is passed on the consumers who like the product will just except the rise.

No change in habits.

[stephenterry]

9 minutes ago, pattjock said:

A can of Coke has 39g of sugar. At 5Baht tax per 100ml this would make the total tax on a can of Coke 15Baht. I'm pretty sure a can of coke is less than 15Baht so how does this work?

 

Orange juice, apple juice and many others have the same amount of sugar as Coke, are they being taxed as well?

Generally speaking, even more beneficial is to eat the fruit and avoid the juices. Fruits contain fructose which is more slowly absorbed by the body, and has doesn't spike insulin as quickly - which is the main rationale (of higher tax on sugary drinks - probably some juices as well) aiming to require manufacturers to provide less risk to diabetic-prone people.

 

Unfortunately, the 'Western diet' led by the USA is the most unhealthy on the planet, and now mega US manufacturers like coca-cola, pepsi, mcdonalds, burger king et al are pervading Thailand and other Asian countries to boost their obscene profits. 

 

It's all about money, not health...

 

As for the Thai government's extra income, the above applies.

 

 

[stephenterry]

17 minutes ago, madmitch said:

Imagine the price of a bottle of Hales Blue Boy Syrup in a few years with these compounding tax rates!

 

But it's also the sugar in noodles, curries, sweet tea and coffee, condensed milk etc. I really don't believe that table published by Yinn.

The table highlights the countries whose population consume the highest  - to lowest - amount of sugar - and it's the affluent societies led by the USA, who are the most unhealthiest. 

 

Relatively speaking, Asian countries consume less sugar, but now western influence (together with a deliberate lack of nutrition education) with sugar-laden products has caused a rapid increase in diabetes in these countries. 

 

I'm sure most of us would agree that in the last ten years the number of obese Thais has noticeably increased.

 

 

 

[bronzedude]

This seems like one of the ways the government is trying to find other ways to raise money once the tourism bubble bursts.

[tifino]

new label appears:       7.77Up

[Speedo1968]

Perhaps it's too early in the morning for me to understand the tax rates.

The picture with the bags of sugar has the text "Sugar content per 100ml / tax rate baht per unit"; if the drink is 300ml and sugar content 6 grams is that 2gms per 100ml meaning it falls below the starting figure of 6gms i.e. no tax increase OR 3 x 100ml x Bt 0.10 = Bt 0.30 tax increase.

 

For those who eat yogurt then change to zero fat yogurts as they have far lower sugar rates, example zero fat yogurts have 6gms sugar whilst low fat and normal yogurts have 13gms or more.

Make your own if you have time.

 

What about sweetened milk is this classed as a sugary drink?

As a previous poster wrote "What about PURE fruit drinks"?

 

England had some laws that were or were not applied banning sales of sugary products from school tuck shops.   More regulations tried to ban any such kind of shop within so many 100 metres of schools.   Also banning fast food outlets.    From what I understand this was not made compulsory and few local councils imposed the regulations.

 

All the producers have to do is is reduce minimum level by !/2 gm to pay no increase?

 

Me, I value my health too much and do not drink or eat sugary foods of any kind.

 

[IAMHERE]

12 hours ago, mok199 said:

I'm getting that warm fuzzy feeling all over , mabey they really do care.....

Isn't that an indication???? of possible diabetes ? 

[ignis]

what gets me most Sugar FREE drinks are more expensive....  and often [eg yesterday at Lotus] buy 2 at a discount, but NO such offer on sugar free drinks

[fforest1]

This sugar tax is a farang conspiracy against Indians......The Indians like fat girls....The farangs are in a conspiracy with the Thai government to try and keep Thai women skinny with this tax.... 

[monkfish]

They put so much sugar in food can't see what difference taxing the kids soft drinks is going to make.
They should tax the source Sugar not the kids drinks.

[onekoolguy]

13 hours ago, mok199 said:

I'm getting that warm fuzzy feeling all over , mabey they really do care.....

I am going to tax the things you like and i am going to double the tax every couple of years. But i do this for your health because i care about you!

They are doing this in a few cities in the USA. Politicians have found this to be a great money earner! 

[Fred white]

4 hours ago, Blue Muton said:

Well its a pretty pointless exercise unless and until they get the wholesalers and retailers on board as the price in the shops is usualy the same for Coke and Coke Zero despite the previous tax, so it has zero effect on customer behaviour at the point of sale.

It's not about the people it's about the govt stealing more money same as some cities in the US