Development of a sweetened beverage tax, Philippines

PROBLEM: Both sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and the incidence of obesity have increased in the Philippines in recent years. APPROACH: A proposal to tax sugar-sweetened beverages was introduced in the House of Representatives and merged into a proposed comprehensive Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Bill to increase the likelihood of acceptance. The health department and finance department recommended a policy that would maximize benefits to both public health and government revenue. To advance discussions, the health department expanded the health argument to include the country’s poor performance in oral health. The approved TRAIN Law adopted the term sweetened beverage to emphasize that the tax covers both sugar and non-sugar sweetened beverages. The tax rate was set to 6.00 Philippine pesos (0.111 United States dollars) per litre of sweetened beverages. The sugar industry successfully lobbied for higher tax rates on beverages containing high-fructose corn syrup, resulting in a differential rate of 12.00 Philippine pesos per litre. LOCAL SETTING: Despite a 12% value-added tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, sales had been sustained by enhanced marketing and product variants being offered in small portions. RELEVANT CHANGES: One month after implementation of the tax in 1 January 2018, prices of taxable sweetened beverages had increased by 16.6 to 20.6% and sales in sari-sari (convenience) stores had declined 8.7%. LESSONS LEARNT: The tax benefited from high-level government commitment and support, keeping policy simple reduced opportunities for tax avoidance and evasion, and taking both health and non-health considerations into account were helpful in arguing for the tax.