Govt To Introduce New Tax Proposal That Will Tame Obesity
The government is considering raising taxes on certain commodities to connect its taxation policy with efforts to control obesity and diet-related disorders.
The Medium Term Revenue Strategy (MTRS) prepared by the National Treasury emphasises the government’s intention to strengthen taxation laws on sugar-based non-alcoholic beverages, such as soda and juice.
The Treasury has elucidated that this action is intended to dissuade the consumption of beverages that have been associated with obesity and other correlated ailments.
Under the proposed proposal, the government will levy taxes on beverages in accordance with their sugar content. Consequently, beverages containing elevated sugar levels will be subject to additional taxes, leading to higher pricing.
“In order to discourage consumption of sugar-based non-alcoholic beverages and prevent obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases, the Government will review the tax regime for sugar-sweetened non-alcoholic beverages to base taxation on sugar content,” read the document in part.
The government will evaluate the adoption of the new tax policies for the upcoming three fiscal years.
Obesity in Kenya is linked to activities in many households that begin from early childhood.
The Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022 report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) revealed that parents commonly introduce sweet beverage liquids to children aged 6 months to two years.
According to the projections, 49 percent of youngsters between the ages of 6 and 23 months consumed a sweet beverage prior to the dates of the nationwide survey.
“Unhealthy infant and young child feeding practices should be avoided because they can promote unhealthy weight gain and replace nutritious foods that provide important nutrients for children.
“For infants and young children, the consumption of sweet foods and beverages increases the risk of dental caries and childhood obesity,” read the report in part.
Conversely, the Global Nutrition Report indicates that more than 13.4 percent of adult females in Kenya are classified as obese. The prevalence of obesity among men is estimated to be 3.6 percent.
Imposing taxes to address the issue of obesity is a widespread practice worldwide. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has also advocated for this technique.
WHO suggests implementing subsidies for fruits as a viable option to promote increased consumption.
“A number of countries have taken fiscal measures to protect people from unhealthy products. These include Mexico, which has implemented an excise tax on non-alcoholic beverages with added sugar, and Hungary, which has imposed a tax on packaged products with high sugar, salt or caffeine levels.
“Countries, such as the Philippines, South Africa and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland have also announced intentions to implement taxes on sugary drinks,” read the report in part.
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Govt To Introduce New Tax Proposal That Will Tame Obesity
