Sugar Tax

In a step towards supposedly addressing the problem of obesity in Malaysia, the Government has implemented a sugar tax which took effect starting July 01, 2019. 

The excise tax was first announced by Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng in November last year.

An excise duty of 40 sen per litre was imposed on sweetened beverages containing more than 5g of sugar or sugar-based sweetener per 100ml. 

Officially a duty, the “sugar tax” is levied on importers and local factories producing sweetened drinks who must pay it directly to the Customs Department. However, the government acknowledged that this may be passed on to consumers through increased prices on the sweetened drinks. Potentially, prices may go up by 10 sen for a 250ml drink or up to 40 sen for a 1 litre drink. 

The government expressed the hope that such price increases would motivate Malaysians to change their habits and choose drinks with lower sugar content. 

Besides, the sugar tax may indirectly encourage the drinks industry to produce and promote more of healthy drinks. 

I’m not sure if Coke prices have indeed gone up – but I don’t care since as far as I’m concerned, Coca-Cola is my liquid nourishment. I need my daily fix and that's a fact.

You can't beat the feeling. If you're into Coke as I am, you'll know what I mean!