Do not create more burdens and shocks for businesses and the market
Sharing with Lao Dong reporter, Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Van Viet, Vietnam Beer - Alcohol - Beverage Association (VBA) said: Beverage enterprises (NGK) are still very concerned about the proposal to add sugary beverages to the list of subjects subject to special consumption tax (SCT).
According to him, the beverage industry is an industry that attracts large foreign investment capital from multinational companies of countries developing in Europe and the Americas with investment commitments to bring modern production and processing technology, contributing to the development of industrialization and modernization, along with advanced production and business management methods to produce high-quality goods to meet domestic and export demand.
The current proposal to increase Special Consumption Tax may affect the investment environment and the confidence of domestic and foreign investors.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Tam, representative of the beverage subdivision and US investment enterprises in Vietnam, said: In the context of a very difficult economy, policies need to support businesses.
Therefore, the proposal for special consumption tax to include sugary soft drinks in the taxable list is inconsistent and not consistent with policy policies. There needs to be a comprehensive and thorough impact assessment.
We recommend not adding sugar-based motorbikes to the list of subjects subject to Special Consumption Tax at this time to avoid creating additional burdens and shocks for businesses and the market.
Sugary soft drinks are not the main cause of overweight and obesity (TCBP)
The Association and experts also believe that sugary soft drinks are not the main cause of overweight and obesity. There is currently no clear evidence that sugary milk is the main cause of acidosis because sugary soft drinks only contribute a very small amount of sugar to the daily diet of Vietnamese people, only about 1.1% according to statistics from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
In addition, the cause of overweight and obesity comes from many different factors such as nutritional diet, physical activity, sleep quality, etc.
Dr. Can Van Luc, Chief Economist of BIDV and Director of BIDV Training and Research Institute, commented that businesses still face many difficulties.
" lighting a special consumption tax on sugary soft drinks will have a negative impact on businesses in the NGK industry as well as other industries in the supply chain. At the recent 9th extraordinary session of the National Assembly, the National Assembly approved a growth target of 8% or more in 2025, to create a solid foundation for double-digit growth in the period of 2026-2030.
To achieve the above goals, businesses, as an important driving force, contributing to socio-economic growth and development, are in great need of policies to support businesses to recover and develop sustainably, thereby creating a stable and long-term source of budget revenue. Therefore, applying Special Consumption Tax to green space investors in the context of the National Assembly and the Government setting high and sustainable growth targets is not appropriate" - Mr. Luc said.
