On the morning of November 22, the National Assembly discussed the draft revised Law on Special Consumption Tax (SCT).
The Government proposed to add soft drinks according to Vietnamese standards with sugar content above 5g/100ml to the list of subjects subject to special consumption tax at a tax rate of 10%.
The majority of opinions in the Finance and Budget Committee agreed with adding this product to the list of products subject to special consumption tax, however, some opinions also suggested further consideration.
Sugar content and tax rates need to be clearly defined.
Delegate Tran Thi Nhi Ha ( Hanoi ) said that a 350ml bottle of energy drink on the market has 64.5 grams of sugar. While according to the nutrition pyramid's recommendations, the amount of sugar an adult should consume per day should be under 25 grams and children aged 3-11 should be under 15 grams.
“Drinking a bottle of energy drink means consuming twice the recommended amount of health,” said Ms. Ha.
Regarding the tax rate, the female delegate suggested that the Government consider it to ensure logical explanation and consensus of businesses and people.
“Why was the ratio of 5 grams/100 ml chosen and not another ratio? Are beverage products using natural sugar from fruit subject to this tax?” Ms. Ha asked.
According to delegates, the Government's impact report has not specifically demonstrated scientific evidence for this proposal and needs further clarification.
Regarding this issue, delegate Nguyen Anh Tri (Hanoi) said that imposing special consumption tax on sugary drinks of 5 grams/100 ml needs to be looked at deeply and consider the impact on health in order to make appropriate adjustments.
According to Mr. Tri, sugary drinks are not completely harmful to health. “I come home tired from work, a glass of soda makes me feel awake right away. Not all sugary drinks are harmful,” Mr. Tri said.
Delegates said that there should be appropriate tax rates, depending on the sugar content in drinks to help regulate sugary consumption habits and increase tax revenue. There should be three tax rates for sugary drinks with a content of 3-5 grams/100 ml; 5-15 grams/100 ml and over 15 grams/100 ml.
Farmers and businesses are very worried.
Presenting his opinion in the discussion group, delegate Nguyen Truc Son (Ben Tre) said that imposing special consumption tax on soft drinks with sugar content needs to be clearly defined.
Mr. Son asked: Is the tax applied to carbonated soft drinks or does it also include fruit juice, vegetable juice, and soft drinks? Businesses are very concerned about this issue, wondering if they will be taxed or not?
Mr. Son cited Ben Tre province as an example, where farmers and coconut production and processing businesses are very worried about this unclear regulation.
The delegate said that Ben Tre coconut accounts for 70% of the country's total coconuts, although sweet and sugary, it is still a natural drink. Therefore, the regulation of sugar content needs to be clear, with specific tax rates for the sugar content in the product, instead of taxing the whole package.
“Ben Tre exports coconuts with an annual revenue of 500 million USD, products such as canned coconut water, manufactured coconut milk... Does such taxation consider the development of the industry? It needs to be clarified, because general taxation will affect agricultural production,” said Mr. Son.
Delegate Dang Bich Ngoc (Hoa Binh) expressed agreement with imposing a tax on sugary soft drinks, because this product is one of the causes of overweight, obesity and health effects.
However, according to Ms. Ngoc, the draft has not yet carefully assessed the impact of the policy on manufacturing enterprises, so the drafting agency needs to research, supplement the basis, and clearly stipulate the appropriate sugar content for easy implementation in practice.
Speaking at the group, delegate Thai Quynh Mai Dung (Vinh Phuc) suggested that this proposal needs to be comprehensively reviewed because there are currently many conflicting opinions from state management agencies, the business community, experts as well as consumers.
Regarding health impacts, according to Ms. Dung, the drafting agency presented in the impact assessment report data on the rate of overweight and obesity in children increasing rapidly over the past 10 years. However, it is necessary to consider the context of malnutrition, stunting, and underweight in children, especially in mountainous areas of our country, which is still very high.
Delegates said that increasing taxes on sugary soft drinks may not reduce consumption of these products by children in urban areas, but for remote areas or ethnic minority areas, even a small price increase will make it even more difficult for children who already have little opportunity to drink soft drinks to access these products.
Due to many different opinions on the health and economic effectiveness of the proposal to add sugary soft drinks to the list of subjects subject to special consumption tax, the delegate suggested that the drafting agency continue to research this issue and not include it in the draft law.
Dantri.com.vn
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