Government will raise the tax on drinks with added sugar in Nov!
In November, the government will increase the tax on drinks with added sugar!
According to a report by Nanyang Business Daily, the government will increase the tax on beverages with added sugar from the current 40 sen to 47 sen as of November 1, 2022, a 7.5% rise.
As long as the beverage has more than 33.3g of sugar per 100g, a 47 sen tax on sugar-sweetened beverages is imposed. Beverages made in-country as well as those imported are included.
Brewing bars, 2-in-1 or 3-in-1 mixed drinks, brewable chocolate, processed cocoa goods, malt extracts, coffee, tea, mate tea, orange juice, ginseng tea, etc. have all been added to the list of impacted products.
In July 2019, the government implemented a tax on beverages with added sugar. Fruit juices with more than 12 grammes of sugar per 100 millilitres (ml), vegetable drinks, and beverages with more than 5 grammes of sugar or saccharin per 100 ml are all considered to be sugar-sweetened beverages and are subject to taxation.
The tax on sugar-sweetened beverages was going to be raised starting on April 1, 2022, and it was going to be widened to include chocolate, cocoa malt, coffee, and tea mixed beverages as well, but that proposal was put on hold. Recently, it was announced that this rule would go into effect in November 2022.
Generally speaking, after the government begins taxing powdered beverages and increases taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages, beverage costs will increase by 9.3% to 30.5%. Each 35-40g pack of 3-in-1 drinks will cost 10–20 Sen more. The cost of coffee and tea in coffee shops can also go up.
It is possible that beverage manufacturers have reduced the sugar level of their products in order to evade the government’s tax on sugar-sweetened beverages.
