Excise tax on sugary drinks will not get votes in the Parliament – Pidlasa
2 October 10:12
The government wants to raise another UAH 8.5 billion from the excise tax on sugary drinks. But there are no votes in the Rada for this.
Roksolana Pidlasa, the head of the Verkhovna Rada Budget Committee, said this in an interview with RBC-Ukraine, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
“I think it will not be adopted. It is difficult to vote for it in the Verkhovna Rada,” she said.
She clarified that even sugar-free beverages, including the Zero category, would be subject to the tax.
“This tax is intended to cover water, excluding mineral and carbonated water, with the addition of sugar or other sweetening or flavoring substances. That is, sugar-free Zero drinks are also subject to the excise tax,” the MP explained.
Why the tax is criticized
Pidlasa believes that the introduction of such a tax will not reduce the consumption of sugary drinks.
“I also support it, but… I don’t think that people will consume less sugary drinks, but their cost will just increase,” she said.
According to her, there are also serious problems with the administration of this tax.
“It is not clear how to administer this excise tax, because no mechanism is described. If there is no mechanism, then there should be a standard administration by the type of excise stamp,” explained Pidlasa.
She also drew attention to the large number of small producers of soda, which will be difficult to control.
“I think the effect of this will be much less than UAH 8.5 billion simply because of poor administration. This is a small amount for the budget, but there can be a lot of negative effects,” summarized the committee chairman.
As a reminder, the Cabinet of Ministers expects to receive money from new taxes on citizens next year. It is expected to introduce an excise tax on sweet and flavored waters, which will bring in another UAH 8.5 billion.
