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Philippines: Coca-Cola seeks lower taxes on sugar-sweetened drinks
MANILA, Philippines — Beverage giant Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines Inc. (CCBPI) is lobbying for the reduction of excise taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB).
The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) said CCBPI chief executive officer Gareth Mcgeown wrote Finance chief Carlos Dominguez, asking the government to “revisit and amend the excise taxes on sweetened beverages.”
“Coke sent a letter lobbying to lower excise tax on SSB to P6 or at parity with sugar,” SRA board member for the planters sector Emilio Yulo told The STAR.
The excise tax on SSB took effect on Jan. 1, 2018, as part of the broader new taxes under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law. It imposed a P12 per liter tax on SSBs using high fructose corn syrup and a P6 per liter tax on SSBs using local sugar.
“From what I understand is they are allegedly having difficulties sourcing their sugar supply. But they just secured 15,000 metric tons of bottlers grade sugar under the recent sugar imports,” SRA board member for the millers Roland Beltran told The STAR.
“It is unfortunate that the issue on HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) is resurrected after Coca-Cola pledged to support the sugarcane industry,” he said.
Beltran said Coca-Cola has no other option but to seek amendments to the TRAIN Law.
“The TRAIN Law has to be amended. But I’m not sure if it is a sound policy to amend a recently enacted law,” he said.
The National Federation of Sugarcane Planters (NFSP), meanwhile, claimed that CCBPI’s proposal was meant to protect its business and increase its profits to the detriment of Filipino sugarcane farmers and the government.
“There is no reason for Coca-Cola to insist on importing HFCS and lowering the excise tax on HFCS, because Coca-Cola is already allowed to import bottler’s grade sugar for its products,” NFSP president Enrique Rojas said.
“SRA allows such importation, as long as its volume and timing is regulated by SRA, such that the importation will not depress local sugar prices,” he said.
Instead of importing and using HFCS, Rojas said Coke should help the sugarcane farmers increase their productivity and assist the millers in increasing their efficiency in producing high quality bottler’s grade sugar.
“Instead of killing the sugar industry, Coke should help the industry stakeholders, because the sugar industry also forms a large part of Coke’s millions of Filipino consumers, who are the source of Coke’s hundreds of billions of profit in the Philippines,” Rojas said.
Source: https://www.philstar.com/business/2019/08/29/1947250/coca-cola-seeks-lower-taxes-sugar-sweetened-drinks#s24hZYULmFw2s8PA.99