OLUWASEUN FOGO
In other to prevent Nigerians from suffering from obesity and diabetes, president Muhammadu Buhari’s administration said it had to introduce excise duty on carbonated non-alcoholic drinks.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, on Wednesday at the announcement of additional N10 excise duty tax on per liter of all non-alcoholic, carbonated and sweetened beverages.
Ahmed, said the tax was introduced by government to discourage intake of carbonated products like Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Sprite and other sweetened beverages that are associated with excessive sugar related sickness like obesity and diabetes.
According to reports, about four million Nigerians suffer from diabetes linked to excess sugar consumption.
The minister made the disclosure today at the presentation of 2022 budget breakdown in Abuja. The new tax law is contained in the government’s 2021 Finance Act.
The government considers the new measure as one of its 2022 budget priorities that help to raise more revenue for health-related and other critical expenditures.
“The 2022 budget seeks to continue the reflationary policies of the 2020 and 2021 Budgets, which helped put the economy back on the path of recovery and growth,” minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed said during a breakdown of the 2022 budget in Abuja.
On his part, the director-general of the Budget Office of the Federation, Ben Akabueze, said the budget is a reflection of what and whom the government is concerned about. He made the comment in a welcome remark to begin the event.
Also, in an ambitious stance to put its revenue generating agencies on their toes, the federal government has unveiled an income target for the agencies to raise revenue for the financing of its 2022 budget.