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Thailand: Soft drinks’ tax haul gains 2-3%
Excise revenue collected from soft drinks for the first five months of fiscal 2019 rose by 2-3%, with full-year revenue collection targeted at 25 billion baht, says the Excise Department.
The 2-3% revenue increase totals around 300 million baht, said Nattakorn Utensut, director of tax planning at the department.
Fiscal 2019 began in October 2018.
Excise revenue collection from soft drinks was worth 22 billion baht for fiscal 2018 and 18 billion for fiscal 2017.
The 25-billion-baht target is expected because excise revenue collected from soft drinks has increased annually, with the tax hike on drinks with sugar-based sweeteners took effect on September 2017.
The new excise tax on sugary drinks, cigarettes, alcoholic beverages and imported wine came into force on Sept 16, 2017.
The tax per bottle of green tea will increase by an average of 1.13 to 2.05 baht, a can of coffee will see a rise of 1.35 baht, fruit and vegetable juices 0.06-0.54 baht per box, energy drinks 0.32-0.90 baht per bottle and carbonated drinks with sugar will be taxed an additional 0.13-0.50 baht per bottle.
The tax for carbonated drinks without sugar will be cut by 0.25-0.30 baht per bottle.
Since the tax rate on sugar-based sweetener drinks has been in place, manufacturers of soft drinks have reduced the amount of sweetener slightly, said Mr Nattakorn.
The average sweetness in soft drinks is at 12 grammes per 100 millilitres, down from the previous 14g per 100ml, he said.
But Coca-Cola and Pepsi have not adjusted their sugar-based sweetener as there is a global standard for manufacturing these soft drinks, said Mr Nattakorn.
He said the higher tax rate on carbonated drinks with sugar imposed in 2017 has not resulted in higher prices for soft drinks as manufacturers have reduced the container sizes instead.
The Excise Department will raise a levy on sugar-based sweeteners by around 50 satang per litre and 10 satang per box for 230cc drinks, he said.
It depends on manufacturers of soft drinks whether they will raise prices, said Mr Nattakorn.
Manufacturers have asked the government to implement a non-tax measure to help alleviate their burden, such as a shelf-entry fee paid to department stores, he said.
Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/1642908/soft-drinks-tax-haul-gains-2-3-