The 2026 Economic Package includes a significant increase to the Special Tax on Production and Services (IEPS) applied to sugary, sweeteners, cigarettes and violent video games. The government presents it as a public health tool; However, the national and international experience invites us to wonder if the main objective will not really be to strengthen collection.
If the initiative was approved, the new fees would be like this:
- Cigars: 0.64 cents weight at 1.15 weight per piece. In addition, any product with more than 0.8 mg of nicotine will be considered cigar.
- Soda: From 1.64 to 3.08 pesos per liter, even in presentations with non -caloric sweeteners.
- Adulcorants added: they would also be taxed.
- Violent video games: 8% increase in physical and digital titles, under the argument of combating violence.
The official discourse argues that these called “healthy taxes” seek to discourage the consumption of harmful products and reduce obesity, diabetes and addictions.
The evidence, however, is ambivalent. In Mexico, the increase to tobacco IEPS as of 2009 barely reduced the proportion of smokers in 0.6 percentage points. In absolute terms, the number went from 18 million to 19.8 million between 2009 and 2023, according to the National Drug, Alcohol and Tobacco Consumption Survey.
International cases reinforce doubt. In Denmark, a fat -similar tax was repealed after one year for generating more cross -border purchases than health benefits. In the United Kingdom, the “sugar tax” reduced the sugar content in drinks, but its impact on childhood obesity remains the object of academic debate.
Read more: Alcohol, tobacco and food giants block health policies: WHO
The impact on homes and employment
The increase to IEPS would have immediate effects in the consumer pocket, especially in lower income homes, where soft drinks or cigarettes represent a significant part of everyday spending. Making more expensive a soda does not guarantee that families opt for healthy alternatives, often more expensive or not accessible in local markets.
In addition, the beverage, sweeteners and digital entertainment industry generates thousands of direct and indirect jobs. A fall in consumption could translates and lower investment in key sectors for the Mexican economy.
One of the main questions is the destiny of collection. The Government has promised that income will be used for the health system, but the recent experience generates doubts: between 2020 and 2024, 67.2% of Fonsabi’s resources were reinstated to the treasury instead of channeling hospitals or medications, according to data from the Superior Audit of the Federation.
In parallel, federal public spending reached a historical maximum of 930 billion pesos, while per capita expenditure on health for people without social security fell 8% compared to 2018.
IEPS is not limited to physical products. It also includes a violent video game tax and new control measures for digital platforms, marketplaces and Fintech. Specialists warn that this could make digital entertainment more expensive, curb technological innovation and generate uncertainty in a sector that has grown double digit in recent years.
In theory, corrective taxes seek to modify behaviors and improve public health. In practice, evidence shows limited results if they are not accompanied by complementary policies such as food education, access to healthy options and sports programs.
The unknown is whether this time the resources collected will result in hospitals, medications and medical care, or if they will end up reinforcing the collection with uncertain social and economic effects.
The debate is open.
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