CAPPA Backs FG’s Health Tax Policy, Seeks Higher Levy on Sugary Drinks

 


The Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has welcomed the Federal Government’s plan to channel excise-tax revenues from alcohol, tobacco, and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) into health financing, but urged authorities to raise the levy on sugary drinks to make it more effective.


At a national health-financing dialogue in Abuja, Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, disclosed that a draft policy is being finalised to earmark revenues from “sin taxes” for healthcare. 


The proposal will soon be submitted to the Minister of Health and Social Welfare.


Responding in a statement issued by its Media and Communication Officer, Robert Egbe on Monday, CAPPA said the move marks a decisive step towards addressing Nigeria’s public health crisis, with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, cancer, and heart disease now accounting for nearly 30 per cent of deaths nationwide.


Executive Director of CAPPA, Akinbode Oluwafemi, described the policy as commendable, but warned that the current N10 per litre tax on sugary drinks, introduced under the 2021 Finance Act, is grossly inadequate.


“At N10 per litre, the duty amounts to less than one per cent of the retail price of a bottle of soda. It cannot discourage excessive consumption or raise meaningful revenue,” he said.


CAPPA recommended raising the levy to at least N130 per litre, indexed to inflation. 


Citing analysis by the Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa (CSEA), Oluwafemi noted that such a rate could generate up to N729 billion annually, enough to offset the estimated N493 billion spent each year treating SSB-related diseases.


The organisation also called for stronger taxation on tobacco and alcohol in line with World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations, which urge countries to increase the price of such products by at least 50 per cent over the next decade as part of its “3 by 35 Initiative.”


According to the WHO, such measures could cut consumption, encourage product reformulation, and prevent up to 50 million premature deaths globally in the next half-century.



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