DTI’s Lopez warns vs. tax on salty food

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez on Wednesday cautioned against the imposition of additional taxes on salty products.

“On the industry, lalo na pag food product, ideally walang tax sana. Lalo na yang salt. Maraming tatamaan pag salt,” Lopez said.

Lopez mentioned instant noodles as one of the products that would be affected by a “salt tax.”

“Kung gustong tax-an, tingin ko lang doon, wag lang sobrang laki na para talagang ayaw mo nang ipakain. Kasi basic yan e. Lalo na kung basic foods,” Lopez said.

A spokesman for the Department of Health on Wednesday is studying the proposal for a measure that would impose additional taxes on food with high salt content.

“There’s nothing concrete right now but it is something the [DOH] is studying,” Health Undersecretary Eric Domingo said at a news conference in Malacañang on Wednesday.

Domingo said experience in several countries showed that taxes on unhealthy food led to reduced consumption and pushed companies to reformulate their products.

He added too much salt in the diet could cause hypertension, heart and kidney diseases.

“Ito yung iniisip natin na pag-aralan na pag tataasan natin ang buwis sa salted food maaaring magkaroon ito ng positive na outcomes sa ating mga kalusugan,” Domingo said.

He said the tax may be also levied on dried fish.

“Kung umabot tayo doon then that’s a possibility but I am not saying right now that is where we’re going,” Domingo said. “We don’t have any guidelines on that yet.”

A bill seeking to impose sin tax on salty food failed to pass in the 17th Congress.

FIled by former Masbate Representative Scott Davies Lanete, House Bill 3719 sought to impose a P1 tax per milligram of salt – in junk food, canned goods and processed food – in excess of one third of the allowable daily intake as prescribed by the DOH. —NB, GMA News