The Chamber of Deputies approved the opinion that reforms, adds and repeals various provisions of the Special Tax Law on Production and Services (IEPS) with which the fees charged on soft drinks and cigarettes are updated by 2026, and serums, drinks flavored with sweeteners, video games with violent content and betting are integrated into the tax.
The opinion, which was approved with 351 votes in favor, 129 against and one abstention, proposes adjusting the payment of taxes for the sale and importation, as the case may be, of: manufactured tobacco and other products containing nicotine; drinks with added sweeteners, games with bets and raffles, including by electronic means, and video games with violent, extreme or adult content or not suitable for minors.
In addition, it establishes that the tax charged on cigarettes goes from the current rate of 160% to a rate of 200%, and for cigars and other tobacco made entirely by hand the current rate of 30.4% rises to 32%.
Read: Organizations request an increase of 7 pesos per liter for soft drinks
This, in order to make these products less expensive, as well as combat and discourage the consumption of tobacco products, in order to have public policies to achieve changes in tobacco consumption patterns in the Mexican population.
It also raises the specific quota per liter for flavored beverages from 1.64 pesos applicable in 2025 to 3.08 for 2026, and taxes this same quota in addition to flavored beverages with any type of sweeteners.
The above, it is argued in the text, “with the purpose of having public policies to achieve changes in the eating patterns of Mexican society.”
This is considering that it is a “heterogeneous market” in which “a wide variety of flavored beverage options” are offered by participants in this industry, making these products less affordable and thus contributing to the “reduction in prevalence and obesity levels in Mexico.”
It also adapts the definition of flavored beverages, and adds an article, “in order to establish the definition of sweetener, and refers to flavored beverages with added sweeteners.”
You may be interested in: Soft drink industry commits to reducing sugar in products
It clarifies that oral serums that contain each and every one of the substances such as anhydrous glucose, sodium chloride, potassium chloride and trisodium citrate, will be exempt from paying the aforementioned tax.
Hours before, the Mexican Coca-Cola industry committed to the government to reduce the calories of its soft drinks by 30% and to make the sugar-free versions cheaper than the regular ones, reported the director of Corporate Affairs of FEMSA, Roberto Campa Cifrián.
This, he noted, is part of an agreement reached with federal authorities to combat excessive sugar consumption among the population, in the midst of the legislative proposal to increase taxes on this type of beverage.
The brand’s announcement occurred in a context in which public health organizations have demanded greater restrictions on the sugary beverage industry, despite the implementation since 2014 of a special tax and the front warning labeling in force since 2020.
During her morning press conference, President Claudia Sheinbaum announced that the soft drink industry had reached an agreement with the government to make its drinks less harmful.
Mexico is one of the largest consumers of soft drinks in the world, with an average of 166 liters per person per year, according to official data.
The consumption of sugary drinks is linked to the high prevalence of obesity and type 2 diabetes, the main causes of death in the country.
The reactions of legislators
Patricia Flores, from MC, considered that the reforms do not really guarantee an improvement in public health, but rather a collection destined for social programs that she considered opaque, according to a report from the agency Quadratín México.
PRI member Victor Samuel Palma said that the increase in the IEPS, although it increases revenue, will not reduce the consumption of sugary drinks and will only affect the middle and popular class.
Reginaldo Sandoval, coordinator of the PT, mentioned that the increase is to improve the quality of health of Mexicans, as well as to reduce the consumption of sugary drinks.
More context: IEPS for sugary drinks and video games: Public health or revenue?
PAN member Paulo Gonzalo Martínez expressed his disagreement by arguing that taxes have traditionally had a collection purpose and have not been used for health prevention.
Morenoist Claudia Rivera Vivanco highlighted that taxes seek to collect and discourage the use of harmful products, and stated that this new fiscal framework is marked by a responsible dialogue between the government, companies and society.
With information from EFE
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