Healthy tax: list of ultra-processed foods to which the measure applies - Personal Finance

tax reform that was approved by the congress writes down a section which refers to the taxes that are followed to ultra-processed foods and sugary drinks.

Several countries around the world have chosen to implement taxes on these products, given the conditions of the population that is prone to getting sick from obesity, acquiring cardiovascular problems, cancer and diabetes by eating foods called ‘junk‘, according to the World Health Organization, which generates high costs in health systems.

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These measures seek to discourage the consumption of products such as juices, sugary drinks and ultra-processed foods.

In Colombia, in the text of the tax reform that was passed, It was stipulated that there will be two types of healthy taxes that will take effect in November of this year.

In article 54, 513-1 of the Tax Reform -Law 2211 of December 13, 2022- the specifications of the so-called ‘Healthy Taxes’ are noted, whose generating event will be “the production, sale, withdrawal of inventories or the acts that imply the transfer of domain for free or onerous title”.

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The article records that Sweetened ultra-processed beverages can include concentrated beverages, powders, syrups, carbonated, malt-based, with concentrated fruit, artificial sweeteners, vegetables or legumes, and other food additives, as well as mixtures based on flour, starch, starch extract, among others.

in this category are exempt from tax infant formulas, medicines that incorporate sugars, powdered products to reconstitute and help with treatments so that people can digest, absorb, and/or metabolize nutrients, powdered foods for special medical treatments, and electrolyte drinkable solutions to prevent dehydration from disease.

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Sodium, sugars and fats will be calculated by formulas and thus the rates will be defined.

The rule also establishes who is not responsible for the taxwhich in this case, are those producers or importers that in the previous taxable year or in the current year obtained gross income from activities subject to this tax, less than ten thousand (10,000) UVT”, that is, around $424,120,000 pesos. If the producer exceeds this value, he will be immediately responsible for the tax to sugar-sweetened ultra-processed beverages, in the next taxable period.

Regarding the rate, the reform establishes: “The tax rate for sugary ultra-processed beverages is expressed in pesos per hundred milliliters (100 ml) of beverage and the unit value is based on the sugar content in grams (g) per hundred milliliters.

These fees will change each year as follows:

– Greater than or equal to six grams and less than ten grams of added sugars: in 2023 it will be $18 pesos and in 2024 it will be $28.

– Greater than or equal to ten grams of added sugars in 2023 will be $35 and in 2024 $55 pesos.

In 2025 the rates will be: Less than five grams of sugars $0 additional; greater than or equal to five grams and less than nine grams of added sugars of $38 and greater than or equal to nine grams of added sugars will be $65 pesos.

As of 2026, the value of the rates established for the will be adjusted every January first by the same percentage that the Tax Value Unit -UVT increases.

The Special Administrative Unit Directorate of National Taxes and Customs –DIAN will be the entity responsible for issuing, by means of an administrative act, the percentage increase of the Tax Value Unit and the value of the updated rates.

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Regarding industrially processed ultra-processed edible products and/or with a high content of added sugars, sodium or saturated fats, the norm establishes that the generating event is the same as that of ultra-processed beveragesthat is to say “the production, sale, withdrawal of inventories or the acts that imply the transfer of domain for free or onerous title and those imported”.

Some of the substances that these edibles contain are fats, oils, starches and sugars.the hydrogenation of oils, hydrolysis of proteins, the presence of additives such as thickeners, foaming agents, colorings, sweeteners, flavor ‘improvers’, among others.

The rates that will be applied to groceries subject to the tax will be reinforced according to the amount of sodium, sugars and saturated fats this way:

sodium: The standard records that “any amount of food is taken, it can be one hundred grams or a portion, and the reported sodium content is divided by the number of kilocalories reported in the same amount.” If this relationship is greater than one, it will be subject to tax. On the other hand, you must calculate the sodium content in one hundred grams and if it exceeds three hundred milligrams (300 mg), you will be subject to the tax.” If the product meets one of the two conditions, it is already subject to tax.

Sugars: The standard establishes that you must first know what kind of added sugars the food has. After identifying it, a sugar conversion must be done with the formula kilocalories per grams. The result will be divided by the total kilocalories of the same amount of food and then multiplied by 100. If the result is a percentage that exceeds 10%, the tax will be applied.

Saturated fats: The same formula is applied to the subject as with sugars: kilocalories per grams, in any amount of food. The result is divided by the total kilocalories in the same amount of food and multiplied by 100. If the result is equal to or greater than 10%, the tax will be applied.

Regarding the tax rate, it will be ten percent in 2023, fifteen percent in 2024 and twenty percent from 2025.