HO CHI MINH CITY, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- A special consumption tax of 10 percent is likely to be imposed on carbonated soft drinks due to their potential health risks, against the current zero percent, local media reported Friday, quoting sources from the Ministry of Finance (MoF).
In its revised draft of the Law on Special Consumption Tax, the ministry said its proposal is made upon results of several studies that have pointed out the potentially harmful effects of soft drinks on public health, reported Vietnam News daily.
The ministry cited the harmful effects of preservatives, high sugar content and other additives found in many such beverages, saying that consumption of soft drinks should be controlled in the same way as that of cigarettes and alcohol, and that higher taxes would dissuade their consumption.
As a side note, the ministry stated that a 10 percent tax would add about 1.5 trillion VND (72 million U.S. dollars) to the state budget by 2016.
Under the draft law, the special consumption tax levied on beer, wine and tobacco will also be hiked by 10 to 15 percent from 2015, in a bid by the Government to reduce the consumption of these products.
The tax on beer, wine and tobacco products will hit a record high of 75 percent in 2015, and is likely to go up to 85 percent in 2018.
Vietnam's beer and wine sales in 2013 were roughly 3 billion liters, equivalent to 32 liters per capita, making Vietnam top of the list of per capita consumption in Southeast Asia and the third in Asia, just behind China and Japan.
The revised law is expected to be passed this year and take effect in July 2015, according to MoF.
|
