By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunermedia.net

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said the government would not introduce a sin tax anytime soon.

His comment came after his administration tabled the Customs Management (Amendment) Bill in the House of Assembly last week, legislation that would let the minister of finance make regulations providing for the payment of a health and wellness levy on the importation of specific goods and domestically manufactured good “deemed to have a negative impact on health and wellness”.

“No, that is not going to be done this year,” Mr Davis said about a sugar or sin tax. “I don’t see it coming very soon either.” 

He said: “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 with that. It’s not gonna happen anytime soon. We’re talking to the industry to see how they’re able to lessen sugar in the ingredients for sodas etc and because the stats have shown that that is one of the significant contributors to non-communicable diseases, something that this country is struggling with as I speak.”

Health and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville has frequently discussed his desire to introduce a sin tax.

In March, he said opposition from local producers of sugary beverages is one obstacle preventing the government from racing to introduce a sin tax.

“I am pushing (for a tax),” he told The Tribune, “but I have to push from the health perspective. I am only the Ministry of Health. The Ministry of Finance has to ultimately make the decision and it has to be a discussion with the wholesale food distributors as well as the local beverage manufacturers in the country.

“You take, for instance, Coca-Cola. They produce all of the sodas, so the minute we talk about adding a tax on sugary beverages, it’s going to be pushback from that industry. So all of our local producers are definitely against it because it will affect their bottom line. But the health and wellness of the country is more important than an industry that is manufacturing something that is now creating a problem in the community and for our ability to push back or fight back against non-communicable diseases.”

According to The Bahamas STEPS 2019 report, the country exceeds the regional prevalence for obesity and hypertension. In addition, the report found that 85.3 per cent of the population does not meet the minimum daily intake/consumption of fruits and vegetables.

The report recommends the government enact legislation to reduce the demand for unhealthy food products.

“Specifically,” the report says, “elimination of trans fats legislation and taxation of sugary beverages; and earmarking these taxes to support wellness. For example, evidence shows that a tax on SSBs (sugar-sweetened beverages) that increases retail price by 20 per cent can reduce consumption by approximately 20 per cent.”