NO LAWMAKER in either chamber of Congress has sponsored the passage of a measure that would slap a tax on junk food, according to officials of the Department of Finance (DOF).
In June, DOF announced the government’s plan 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 Department of Health’s (DOH) specified thresholds for fat, salt, and sugar content.
During his weekly press chat, however, Finance secretary Benjamin Diokno said, “Wala pang sponsor… both chamber walang sponsor.”
Finance undersecretary Karlo Adriano also confirmed that “for the junk food [tax], no filed bill, both for Senate and [House].”
With this, Diokno said the economic team will review its revenue outlook as many of the tax measures may not be passed this year.
Apart from the junk food tax, the plan to hike the levy on sweetened beverages and the mining tax regime are also not expected to be passed by Congress this year.
Diokno said the revenue-generating measures that are advancing are the proposed taxes on single-use plastics and digital transactions.
As to the expected reduction in revenues due to non-passage of the measures, the Finance chief said the DOF may propose cuts on expenditures as well as increase collection efficiency through digitalization. (GMA Integrated News)
