By NEIL HARTNELL

and YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporters

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

Caribbean Bottling Company's top executive yesterday warned "you cannot tax a country into good health" amid private sector fears that a so-called 'sugar tax' will be a “poison pill” for small business.

Walter Wells, the local Coca-Cola producer's chief executive and president, told Tribune Business he was "encouraged" by the Prime Minister's confirmation that such 'sin taxes' will not be introduced in the near future.

Noting that the introduction of such a levy has been oft-debated for many years, he added: "It's nothing new to us in terms of being a possibility." Reforms to the Customs Management Act, tabled with the 2023-2024 Budget, enable the minister of finance to make regulations "providing for the payment of a health and wellness levy on the importation of specified goods, and domestically manufactured goods, deemed to have a negative impact on health and wellness".

Mr Wells said this merely gives the Government "a greater degree of flexibility as to when it happens. I cannot say that, in and of itself, alarms me. The Government always has the ability to do it when it wants to do it, but it normally happens in the Budget process.

"I cannot really debate whether it's a good thing or a bad thing. My position is that I would prefer to have no tax. If this is to be a tax, to what extent it would compromise our business from an industry standpoint, right now it's an open question. I'm certainly encouraged by the fact it's not something stuck in the Budget; take it or leave it," Mr Wells added.

The Caribbean Bottling chief, though, said sugary drinks are only part of the health and wellness issues facing Bahamians. "The debate makes it sound like sugary drinks are the cause of obesity in the country, and you and I know that's not true," he added. "It's calories in, calories out. If you eat more on a daily basis than you burn up, you gain weight. You cannot tax a country into good health, you need to educate the country into good health."

Kendrick Delaney, owner/operator of the New Duff, told Tribune Business that the Government would be better off implementing a national lottery rather than trying to implement a sugar tax that will not be effective in the long run.

"I believe that sugar taxes work extremely well as a revenue generator, but it's a poison pill for businesses, small businesses in particular, because the costs are really passed on to consumers, therefore making our products more expensive. I don't believe it's the best way to have the same outcome as reducing chronic care illnesses overall," he said.

“A better way to achieve that would be to be brave enough to ask the number houses to be nationalised and use those funds to train kids from a young age to learn the effects of sugar, fat and salt on their diets, as opposed to trying to fix this after the fact. Because if people are already addicted to sugar, how are we going to change that behaviour by increasing the cost of it on the business? It's not the best solution.”

Prime Minister Philip Davis, KC yesterday said there will be “no new taxes” on sugar products or otherwise. “We are attempting to cause Bahamians to understand what sugar is to their health. We have put a framework in place to determine whether or not it will be done, but nothing is happening in that regard and nothing is happening any time soon," he added.

“We're talking to industry to see how they're able to lessen sugar in the ingredients for sodas, etc, because the stats have shown it is one of the significant contributors to the non-communicable diseases, something that this country is struggling with as I speak. So know that that is not going to be done this year. I don't see it coming very soon either.”

Mexico implemented a sugar tax on soft drinks in 2014, and results have shown in a study in Health Affairs that purchases of taxed drinks have dropped by an average of 7.6 percent between 2012 and 2015. Additionally, purchases of untaxed beverages increased by 2.1 percent in the same study period.

Karla Wells-Lisgaris, director at Caribbean Bottling Company, added: “We are naturally reluctant to see any tax introduced that could compromise the viability of local manufacturing of such products, although we fully understand and agree that health and wellness of our people is of vital importance.

“We are not clear on what type of tax is being considered, and so it is premature to second guess the Government and we are pleased that dialogue and consultation will take place. Ultimately it is in everyone's interest to see improvement in our country's health profile. However, this will not happen without ongoing education.”

Nevette Cooper-Missick, owner/operator of Cake my Day, added: “I don’t know how I should feel about his. I’m going to be honest with you, cakes are not healthy, but cakes are not something you are supposed to be eating every day anyway. They are supposed to be for celebrations and special events.

“Too much of anything can be a bad thing for you. But I believe that anything that tries to take away personal freedoms, I have a problem with that because at the end of the day if someone wants to eat cake ten times a day that’s their free will. They can do that. I don’t think a tax would necessarily deter people from buying something that they want because if they want it they would spend the money to get it."

A snack-food wholesaler, speaking under the condition of anonymity, said that as a new business implementing a tax just as they are starting off will make things difficult for them. “Right now 100 percent juices are duty free, but if they go up on it it won’t be good for me. But it’s the Government and they can do what they want to do," they added.