Legislators Propose Tax Break on Sugar-Free Bottled Drinks

Taiwan's legislators are working on removing the commodity tax on sugar-free bottled drinks to incentivize healthier life choices.

Transcript

00:00It's a cup of coffee, and a cup of coffee, and a cup of coffee.

00:03Do you like sugar in your tea?

00:05If the answer is no, you might be in for a treat.

00:08As Taiwan's legislators are looking to waive the commodity tax on unsweetened bottled drinks.

00:14If you have less than 3 million of non-sweetened drinks,

00:19you can reduce 233 million of health care services,

00:24then the country's economy will be able to get 230 million.

00:26More than half of adults and a third of children and teens in Taiwan are overweight.

00:35One major reason, sugary drinks.

00:38There are almost 4% of people who drink sugar in three times.

00:45It's over 90% of people who know it's dangerous.

00:49Legislators say they hope this tax break will encourage more people to opt for healthier choices.

00:55It will allow us to reduce their production costs.

01:00It can also reduce our country's export costs.

01:03In order to help our country,

01:05whether it's children or young people,

01:07or young people,

01:08or our friends,

01:09to change their consumption habits.

01:11But there are mixed feelings about just how effective this policy would be.

01:15If that's when prices are lower,

01:17then I think that if a drop out is smaller,

01:19it will be less likely to bedowns.

01:20That's why we need a lower amount of food.

01:25So you think the price is not very good at that?

01:28Yes, the price is not even better.

01:29Still, some are confident the proposal will help create healthy habits.

01:33the habits. The initiative has the attention of both ruling and opposition legislators,

01:53but the details of the policy and whether it will pass are still up in the air.

01:58Choosing sugar-free drinks like this one won't lower your grocery bill, at least not yet.

02:05But with the government considering a tax break, they might soon cost a little less and

02:10come with some health benefits. Howard Zhang and Irene Lin for Taiwan Plus.