Junk Food Tax Gets Extra Boost as Mexican Senate Passes Reform Bill Juan Montes - WSJ.com
go to original October 31, 2013

MEXICO CITY - The Mexican Senate has passed a series of broad tax increases sought by President Enrique Peña Nieto, including higher rates for the wealthy and new levies on dividends, sugary soft drinks and junk food.

In an overnight session that ended early Thursday, senators of the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, and the left-wing Party of the Democratic Revolution, or PRD, made a handful of changes to the bill, including raising the proposed tax on high-calorie foods to 8% from 5%. The bill was sent back to the lower house, which has to approve the changes.

Senators of the conservative National Action Party, or PAN, which opposed a number of the tax measures, stayed away from the session.

The Senate approval is a success for Mr. Peña Nieto, as it kept most of the taxes he had proposed to help finance the social security network and increase public investments. The government has argued that Mexico’s non-petroleum tax revenue, at just 10% of gross domestic product, is one of the lowest in Latin America.

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