Junk Food, Sweet Drinks Are Philippines’ Next Tax Targets

The Philippines is pursuing plans to tax junk food and hike levies on sweetened beverages to boost revenue and reduce incidence of diabetes, obesity and other diseases linked to poor diet.

The Department of Finance is planning to impose a tax of 10 pesos ($0.18) per 100 grams or 10 pesos per 100 milliliters on pre-packaged food lacking nutritional value, including snacks, desserts, and frozen confectioneries, that exceed the Department of Health’s specified thresholds for fat, salt and sugar content, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said in a mobile-phone message to reporters.

The government also aims to increase the sweetened beverage ...