Coalition Insists Tax on Sugar-sweetened Beverages
The National Action on Sugar Reduction Coalition has disagreed with the call in some areas to remove the tax on sugar-sweetened beverages.
The Coalition called on the President, Bola Tinubu, to increase the sugar-sweetened beverage tax.
It noted that the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria had called for a reversal of the violation of the government’s three-year excise escalation roadmap on alcoholic beverages and tobacco by former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
However, in a statement on Monday by the Chairman of the coalition, Dr. Adamu Umar, noted the poor in the country would suffer if the sugar-sweetened beverage tax was removed or not increased.
The statement partly read, “The coalition has been advocating for pro-health policies, including the passage of Nigeria’s N10 per liter excise tax in the 2021 Finance Act. In Nigeria, NCDs such as cancer, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and kidney failure account for one in three deaths.
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“We maintained that the tax, by deterring the purchase and consumption of harmful sugary beverages, will reap health benefits by preventing non-communicable diseases, especially among the urban poor who cannot afford the high cost of treatment.”
He said the reason for the tax was to conserve Nigerians’ health and well-being.
Umar said, “The NASR coalition, however, disagrees with the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria for demanding the removal of pro-health taxes, this shows that the association is putting profit over health.
“Less than a week after the inauguration of the president, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria addressed an open letter to the president urging him to review all non ‘business-friendly’ fiscal policies, including the tax on alcoholic beverages, sugar-sweetened beverages, and tobacco.
“The reason for taxing these commodities is to preserve Nigerians’ health and well-being, as they contribute to the country’s rising non-communicable disease toll.”
He added that, “Removing sin taxes will shift an increasing budgetary burden on the underfunded health-care sector, rendering the tax reversal counterproductive.”
