Budget Debate: Tax on non-alcoholic beverages pushed back to May 1 — Williams

Fayval Williams (Photo: Naphtali Junior)

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March 24, 2026

Budget Debate: Tax on non-alcoholic beverages pushed back to May 1 — Williams

KINGSTON, Jamaica — The tax on non-alcoholic sweetened beverages from which the Government expects to raise $10 billion during fiscal year 2026/27, has been pushed back by one month to May 1 to allow time for changes to be made in how the tax is applied.

Finance Minister Fayval Williams made the announcement on Tuesday in the House of Representatives, as she closed the 2026/27 Budget Debate.

“We have met with the beverage manufacturers, they have asked us to go to the tiered approach to which we are not opposed and the Ministry of Health and Wellness (MoHW) prefers the tiered approach as well,” said Williams in her written remarks.

“In the course of the year, we will continue the working group — MoHW, Ministry of Finance and manufacturers — to work towards the tiered system. So we will begin with the simple application that targets the grams of sugar. In keeping with this administration’s leadership style, we listened,” she added.

The minister explained that the original announcement of a rate of two cents per millilitre was made for reasons of administrative simplicity.

“However, stakeholders pointed out and we agreed that a flat, volume-based tax does not vary by sugar content and therefore does not distinguish between a low sugar and the high sugar product.

“We took that concern seriously and because health has always been the underlying intent of the measure, we have redesigned the SCT (special consumption tax) to be based directly on sugar content rather than on the volume of the beverage,” said Williams.

She said the SCT will therefore be levied at a rate of 22 cents per gram of added sugar rather than on the volume of the beverage. Since th