According to the draft Law on Special Consumption Tax (amended), expected to be consulted by the National Assembly in October and approved in May 2025, the Ministry of Finance proposes to impose a special consumption tax of 10% on soft drinks with a sugar content of more than 5 grams per 100ml.
According to the Ministry of Finance, this is a new item proposed to be added to the taxable list, so they proposed a rate of 10% to encourage businesses to produce and import low-sugar products, raise awareness, and adjust consumer behavior.
"Expanding the scope to full coverage needs to be carefully studied based on evidence and convincing arguments suitable to Vietnam's conditions," the Ministry of Finance stated.
However, the Ministry of Health proposed a 40% tax on the above items. "The 10% rate only increases the retail price by 5%, which is not enough to change consumer behavior," said Ms. Hoang Thi Thu Huong, Department of Legal Affairs, Ministry of Health, giving an example of a soft drink product that is currently priced at VND10,000/bottle, and is now priced at VND10,500/bottle after applying a 10% tax.
Similarly, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that to reduce the consumption of sugary drinks, the retail price of sugary drinks should increase by 20% or more, equivalent to the special consumption tax rate on factory prices, and imports should be 40%. This solution will contribute to improving public health, increasing budget revenue, helping to reduce health care costs for related diseases, and reducing long-term labor productivity losses.
In Vietnam, research conducted by HealthBridge Canada and WHO shows that if the above tax rate is applied, the budget revenue will be about 17.4 trillion VND. Research conducted by the University of Public Health also estimates that a tax rate of 40% will lead to a reduction in consumption and a 2% reduction in the rate of overweight, 1.5% in the rate of obesity, preventing more than 81,000 cases of type 2 diabetes and saving 24.55 million USD in medical costs.
Mr. Nguyen Tuan Lam, a WHO expert in Vietnam, also said that the United Nations health agency recommended that the Ministry of Finance consider a roadmap to increase the special consumption tax rate to 40% by 2030 to reduce the affordability of these products.
The number of countries imposing excise taxes on sugary drinks has increased rapidly over the past 15 years, from 35 countries (in 2009) to 104 countries (in 2023), including 6 countries in Southeast Asia, including: Thailand, Philippines, Cambodia, Malaysia, Laos, Brunei.
In Thailand, after 2 years of implementing the special consumption tax policy on sugary drinks, the average daily consumption of this item decreased by nearly 3%; the consumption of carbonated water decreased by nearly 18%. In Mexico, the consumption of sugary drinks decreased by 6% in the first year (2014) and decreased by 10% in the following year.
In Vietnam, the consumption of sugary drinks has increased sharply in recent years. Total consumption of sugary drinks has increased rapidly from 1.59 billion liters in 2009 to 6.67 billion liters in 2023 (an increase of 420%). High consumption of soft drinks - the most popular type of sugary drink - is identified as one of the causes of overweight, obesity and metabolic disorders in both adults and children. This increases the incidence of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure as well as complications of cardiovascular disease, stroke and death.
The Ministry of Health is also proposing to increase alcohol tax by at least 10% and increase cigarette tax to limit smoking and protect public health.
TH (according to VnExpress)Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/de-nghi-danh-thue-tieu-thu-dac-biet-40-voi-nuoc-ngot-396373.html
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