[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”!!! PLEASE DO NOT EDIT !!!” _builder_version=”4.19.5″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row admin_label=”!!! PLEASE DO NOT EDIT !!!” _builder_version=”4.19.5″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.19.5″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text admin_label=”TO BE EDITED – SUMMARY – Click on the WHEEL icon to open the textarea where you can paste or type your summary. The summary condenses the main points for the news that starts below. The summary is in bold and not longer than 300 characters, including spaces. The counter at the bottom can help.” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”||20px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
Pakistan’s Ministry of Health has proposed a 20% health tax on processed and ultra-processed food and beverages as part of a public health strategy to reduce unhealthy consumption and generate revenue for healthcare spending.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”TO BE EDITED – TEXT OF THE NEWS – BLOCK 1 – Click on the WHEEL icon to open the textarea where you can paste or type your news. PLEASE USE ONLY THE FEATURED IMAGE FUNCTION on your right column to add the image.” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”||1em||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Pakistan\u2019s Ministry of Health has proposed a 20% health tax on processed and ultra-processed food and beverages for the 2025\u201326 fiscal year. This initiative is part of a wider public health strategy aimed at reducing unhealthy food consumption and increasing healthcare funding.<\/p>\n A report titled \u201cSustainable Ultra Processed Food and Drinks Products Taxation Policy for Public Health\u201d outlines plans to gradually raise the Federal Excise Duty (FED) on currently taxed items from 20% to 40% in the upcoming fiscal year, with a further increase to 50% by 2029. The tax would apply to a variety of products, including sausages, confectionery, bakery goods, and sugary drinks, which are often high in sugars, fats, and preservatives linked to non-communicable diseases like obesity and diabetes.<\/p>\n The report emphasizes that new health taxation should provide dual benefits: reducing the consumption of unhealthy foods while generating revenue to enhance public health spending under the Healthy Pakistan initiative. Specific recommendations include increasing the FED on sugary fruit juices and flavored waters (excluding mineral waters) from 20% to 40%, and targeting aerated drinks with added sugars.<\/p>\n The Ministry also advises maintaining records of tax revenue to ensure proportional increases in health expenditure based on revenue growth. This proposed policy aligns with a global trend in health taxation, similar to policies in Colombia and Saudi Arabia, focusing not just on revenue but on fostering healthier dietary habits and alleviating the long-term impact of diet-related illnesses in Pakistan.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”TO BE EDITED – TEXT OF THE NEWS – BLOCK 2 – Click on the WHEEL icon to open the textarea where you can paste or type your news. PLEASE USE ONLY THE FEATURED IMAGE FUNCTION on your right column to add the image.” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Pakistan’s Ministry of Health has proposed a 20% health tax on processed and ultra-processed food and beverages as part of a public health strategy to reduce unhealthy consumption and generate revenue for healthcare spending.\u00a0Pakistan\u2019s Ministry of Health has proposed a 20% health tax on processed and ultra-processed food and beverages for the 2025\u201326 fiscal year….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2098,"featured_media":987771553,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":""},"categories":[],"tags":[3047,133],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/987771551"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2098"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=987771551"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/987771551\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":987771572,"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/987771551\/revisions\/987771572"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/987771553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=987771551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=987771551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=987771551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}