Mexico to Impose Tax on Sugary Beverages

If sugary drinks are your bread and butter then you may not be too happy with the Mexican government’s proposal to penalize sugary beverages with a special tax in an attempt to contain obesity and Type 2 diabetes. Mexico would be following the example of France and Hungary by taxing sweet drinks in the name of public health.

President Enrique Pena Nieto’s tax is meant to target all sweetened beverages, not just soda. In Mexico, seven of ten adults are either overweight or obese and an estimated 15% of people over the age of 20 have adult-onset diabetes. The bill would apply a tax of one peso (eight cents) for each liter of sugar-sweetened beverage. The government is expecting an increase of $900 million a year in revenue by way of the tax.

Coca-Cola questioned the effectiveness of the proposed tax. “To change behaviors effectively, we need to ensure people understand that all calories count, regardless of the source – and that includes our caloric beverages too,” the company said.