Instant noodles not included in salty food tax – Diokno

MANILA, Philippines, June 27 ----- The Department of Finance (DOF) has maintained that instant noodles, despite its high sodium content, will not be included in the list of salty foods to be slapped with tax amid the propensity of the low-income majority to consume such.

In a briefing, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said the DOF is consulting with the National Nutrition Council of the Department of Health to come up with the list of foods that can be considered salty. This comes after several groups called the DOF’s latest measure as “anti-poor” given their limited access to healthier, but affordable food alternatives. Instant noodles, for one, are commonly consumed by the poor considering that these are cheap and easy to cook yet still palatable. “If you’re thinking of the noodles, which are really salty, we will not cover that. We know that many of our poor Filipinos consume that,” Diokno said.

The World Health Organization is recommending that sodium intake per day be limited to less than five grams per day to prevent cardiovascular diseases. However, data showed that consuming instant noodles is already about three grams per 100 grams of serving. Under the DOF’s proposal, the government plans to impose a P10 per 100 grams or P10 per 100 milliliters tax on pre-packaged foods lacking nutritional value, including confectioneries, snacks, desserts, and frozen confectioneries, that exceed the DOH’s specified thresholds for fat, salt and sugar content. “The list (of salty food) is not yet firm. But of course you have the snacks and chips. DOH has the standard, but nothing specific yet,” Diokno said.

Consumer groups also called for the exclusion of canned sardines in the list, but Diokno said this would depend on the DOH. The Finance chief said the list is expected to come out in the second half of the year, including the draft version of the bill to be submitted to Congress for endorsement. Diokno maintained that the salty and junk food tax is both a health and revenue measure to address the poor diet in the Philippines that increases the risk of various diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and cancer, among others. The tax proposal also aims to widen the government’s still limited fiscal space. “If you have more money, then you can help more with your programs. You use that money to address social and economic problems,” Diokno said. He explained that some countries like Mexico are imposing a junk food tax. A quick look, however, showed that not all attempts were successful.

Denmark taxed food with high saturated fat, but only implemented such a measure for a year amid inflation concerns. Mexico likewise had a similar measure, but close to 75 percent of its population remain obese. On the other hand, Hungary slapped higher levies on foods with high sugar and salt and saw a 73 percent reduction in consumption of such products. Groups have long been urging the government to raise substantial revenues without burdening ordinary Filipinos through a wealth tax that could raise some P500 billion annually. Diokno, however, remains cold to such a measure given that “it is hard to define. “I would rather tax what you take away from society rather than what you contribute to,” Diokno said.

Source: philstar.com