Brazil – Government eliminates import tax on food supplements

26/08/2022 / infoAlimentario

President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) announced, that the federal government reduced to zero the import tax on food supplements, such as protein concentrates (like Whey Protein), creatine, multivitamins and other sports nutrition products to help people who exercise.

For further information, you can access the original source in Spanish

Colombia – New tax rates for ultra-processed foods and sugar-sweetened beverages in tax reform bill proposed by the new government

13/08/2022 / infoAlimentario

The announced Tax Reform Project for Equality and Social Justice of the Government of Gustavo Petro arrived at the Congress of the Republic.
Among the new sources of money for the State would be taxes on sugary drinks and ultra-processed foods, as well as on single-use plastics and sources of carbon pollution.

Sugar-sweetened beverages and soft drinks would be taxed according to sugar content in grams per 1000 milliliters of beverage. In other words, the more sugar, the more expensive the product will be. This measure is expected to accumulate 1.02 trillion pesos.

In the case of ultra-processed foods, which include sausages, snacks, sweets and powders for preparations, a tax of 10% of the total cost is proposed. With this measure it is estimated to collect at least 1.09 trillion pesos, but it is intended more for the potential adverse effects they have on the health of Colombians. The percentage of GDP with this tax would be 0.15%.

For further information, you can access the original source in Spanish

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Article: Elements for the design of a tax levied to foods and beverages high in sodium, fats and/or sugars in Colombia

20/02/2022 / infoAlimentario

A broad international evidence shows that diets high in sodium, saturated and trans fats, and added sugars are risk factors for the development of obesity, cardiovascular diseases and type II diabetes. Therefore, this have motivated nearly 50 countries to implement “healthy taxes” to discourage the intake of some products with a high-density level of these nutrients, most of them being taxes to sweetened beverages. Through a literature review about the international experiences regarding “healthy taxes” and the estimation of a quadratic demand model (QUAIDS), this study analyzes the potential impact of different types of taxes on foods and beverages high in sodium, fats and/or sugars in Colombia on (i) the intake of these nutrients, (ii) the government revenue collection and (iii) the households’ available income for different income levels.