Soft drinks taxes

Isn’t it extraordinary how different countries take such different views on taxation? Here are some examples of new initiatives around the world at the end of October.

• The French Parliament voted for an energy drinks tax of 1 euro per litre as a public health measure, to take effect on 1 January 2014 and raise 60 million euros a year if passed by the French Senate.

• India’s Supreme Court rejected most aspects of a call for tougher ingredient controls and warnings on labels.

• Mexico’s Senate backed a lower house vote for a tax on sugar sweetened beverages including syrups at 1 Peso per litre.

• Thailand’s Finance Ministry is proposing a 10-20% excise tax on ready-to-drink green tea from 2014 as ‘the claim by local producers that they are helping tea farmers is no longer valid’.