Taxation in Colombia has been changing in recent years, currently the creation of two new taxes with Law 2277 of 2022, such as the tax on sugar-sweetened ultra-processed beverages and the tax on ultra-processed food products, which begin to apply from November 1, 2023, which generate expectations on how they will be accepted in the population both among producers, marketers and consumers; and if they will reach the expected collection in favor of the State.
In this article we studied the tax regulations of countries such as Chile and Mexico, where these taxes were implemented years ago and, according to experts, with the passage of time the objective of reducing the consumption of ultra-processed foods and beverages was achieved. With respect to Colombian legislation, Law 2277 of 2022 and the labeling law were consulted, which complement each other to discourage consumption by increasing prices and providing nutritional information on food to the population.
It is concluded that like Chile and Mexico, in Colombia these taxes implemented over time will show favorable results. The actions that countries have taken with the implementation of taxes arise from the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO), due to the high level of diseases related to inadequate nutrition, affecting productivity, life expectancy and the nation’s budget, causing the state to allocate more resources in health for diseases that could be prevented.

Healthy taxes are levied on products that are harmful to health, such as ultra-processed products and sugar-sweetened beverages, whose high consumption has been associated with the prevalence of non-communicable diseases and even environmental damage. Thus, these measures have taken on public health relevance to address various forms of malnutrition.
However, their political discussion should transcend the scope of a short-term economic objective, placing the vision of the human right to adequate food at the center of the debate.