Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno announced that instant noodles are not included among the salty or high sodium content foods that will be subject to a higher tax.
“If you’re thinking of the noodles, ‘yun talaga salty ‘yun. That’s 60% sodium [content]. Hindi naman iko-cover ‘yun. ‘Yun ang talagang [para] sa mga mahihirap,” explained Diokno in press briefing.
A pack of instant noodles that are often shared by poor families usually has 1,500 milligrams (mg) to 2,000 mg of sodium.
However, experts recommend that people should consume only 2,300 mg a day of sodium. Too much sodium has bad effects on the body, such as on the kidneys or kidneys.
This past week, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said that the Marcos administration would promote the passage of new tax measures this year. This includes higher taxes on sweetened beverages and junk food that have an impact on human health.
According to Diokno, the DOF will contact the National Nutrition Council and the Department of Health for a list of foods or pre-packaged foods that should be subject to higher taxes.
Instant noodles safe from tax hike on salty foods
The DOF plan includes imposing a P10 per 100 grams or P10 per 100 milliliters tax on pre-packaged foods that have no nutritional value, such as confectioneries, snacks, desserts, and frozen confectioneries that exceed the DOH’s specified thresholds for fat, salt, and sugar content.
Last September, the DOH said they would propose an increased tax on junk food and sweetened beverages to address the country’s obesity problem and increase tax collection to be allocated to the universal healthcare program.
Diokno estimates that such a move to increase taxes on junk food and sweetened beverages will generate an additional P76 billion in revenue in the first year of implementation.
Junk food consumption is also expected to decrease by 21 percent.
“The incremental revenues from this tax package will fund important socio-economic programs initiated by the Marcos administration, such as the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) food stamp program. This program will provide support to one million food-poor households, to alleviate food insecurity and malnutrition,” Diokno said in a statement last week.
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