Delegate Nguyen Thi Le Thuy (Ben Tre Delegation) suggested that it is necessary to carefully consider the application of special consumption tax on sugary drinks. “According to the Impact Assessment Report of the Ministry of Finance, in recent years, the consumption rate of sugary drinks in our country has decreased even though there is no need to apply tax. In practice, not all countries that apply special consumption tax on sugary soft drinks have achieved the goal of reducing the rate of overweight and obesity, such as: Brunei, India, Chile, Finland, Belgium are countries that have applied special consumption tax on sugary drinks for many years, but the rate of overweight and obesity is still increasing steadily,” Ms. Thuy said.
Ms. Thuy also added that countries that do not apply special consumption tax on sugary soft drinks such as Japan or Singapore have the lowest rates of overweight and obesity. “For example, canned coconut water, without adding sugar, natural coconut water already has a sugar content equivalent to 6-7g/100ml. If applied according to Vietnamese standards, canned coconut water can be classified as subject to special consumption tax. If special consumption tax is applied to coconut water, it will not only affect hundreds of coconut processing enterprises that are exhausted after Covid-19 in Ben Tre province, but also affect more than 200,000 coconut farmers because they cannot sell their coconuts, and risk having to cut down coconut trees to plant other trees,” Ms. Thuy worried.
Emphasizing that coconut is a tree that can adapt to climate change, can withstand drought, withstand flooding and coconut roots prevent soil erosion. Many studies have shown that drinking coconut water is good for health, no studies have shown that drinking coconut water leads to overweight or obesity, Ms. Thuy affirmed that there is currently not enough basis to confirm that imposing a special consumption tax on coconut water will reduce overweight and obesity. However, if a special consumption tax is imposed on coconut water, it is likely to lead to budget losses for localities that grow coconut, and the Central Government may even have to support the budget for localities that grow coconut to overcome natural disasters caused by the loss of coconut trees.
Given that the application of special consumption tax on sugary drinks may reduce the consumption of sugary drinks but is unlikely to reduce the rate of overweight, obesity and other non-communicable diseases, Ms. Thuy suggested that it is necessary to thoroughly and comprehensively assess the effectiveness of adding sugary drinks according to Vietnamese standards to the subjects of special consumption tax to ensure that the policy's goal is to protect people's health.
According to Deputy Truong Trong Nghia (Ho Chi Minh City Delegation), special consumption tax should not be applied to air conditioners. Because this is a product that helps people have better living conditions, especially for the health of the elderly and children. Instead of taxing, people should be instructed on how to use air conditioners properly.
Delegate Hoang Van Cuong (Hanoi Delegation) said that the draft Law still keeps air conditioners as a product subject to special consumption tax, which is no longer appropriate, because nowadays air conditioners have become essential items for every family and office. "Imposing special consumption tax on air conditioners does not change the behavior of using air conditioners to consuming other products instead. Therefore, it is necessary to remove air conditioners from the list of products subject to special consumption tax," Mr. Cuong stated his opinion.
Delegate Pham Van Hoa (Dong Thap Delegation) also proposed not to impose special consumption tax on air conditioners because this is a need and essential item of the people.
Source: https://daidoanket.vn/dbqh-lo-ngai-nuoc-dua-cung-bi-danh-thue-10295393.html
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