PAN deputies were described by the PT as “children of Coca-Cola” after showing their rejection of the IEPS for soft drinks, tobacco and video games; “They only respond to some patrons,” said Representative Lilia Aguilar.
Mexico City, October 17 (However).- Within the framework of the approval in the Chamber of Deputies of the Special Tax Law on Production and Services (IEPS) for sugary drinks such as soft drinks, tobacco y violent video gamesdeputies of the National Action Party (PAN) were pointed out by a Representative of the Labor Party (PT) as “children of Coca-Cola” by showing their rejection of this measure.
In turn, PAN legislator Alan Márquez accused in the lower house of the Congress of the Union that the IEPS “It has become a blind and directionless fundraising tool.”
“The IEPS was born to discourage the consumption of harmful products, but today we have to say it in all its letters: the IEPS became the tax of failure, everyone pays it, but the only beneficiaries are corruption, waste and tax abuse. From National Action we say it clearly: no more taxes that punish the most needy, no more laws that squeeze those who work every day,” he stated.
“Who does this law really punish? It punishes the one who gets up early and fills the tank with gasoline, which will be more expensive, it punishes the small businessman who sees his costs rise without anyone reaching out to him, it punishes the national producer, who competes without support, while the Government only seeks to collect more,” he said.
For her part, the Deputy of the Citizen Movement (MC), Patricia Flores Elizondo, assured that the money collected from the taxes will not be allocated to sectors such as health or education, but rather to current spending.
“Today, officially, they will raise the tax on flavored drinks. They will raise the tax on tobacco, they will raise the tax on gambling and even video games. What is the fault of the gamers? For God’s sake… With all those taxes the Government hopes to collect more than 270 billion pesos next year. But where does that money go? In the same bag as always: current spending, programs without clear rules and works that do not pass the magnifying glass of transparency. No there is a real plan for that money to reach public health; to hospitals, to prevention, to safety,” he declared.
Meanwhile, PT Deputy Lilia Aguilar accused PAN members and PRI members of defending the alcohol, tobacco and soft drink industries, receiving lobbyists at the San Lázaro Palace to try to stop taxes. He called them children of Coca-Cola.
“Children of Coca-Cola. I present to you PRIAN, who now in addition to being children of Coca-Cola are the casino deputies who defend tobacco, violence. Well, diabetes, consumption and sucking. That’s what they have reduced (…) Well, they have threatened us, they have said that diabetes is a small pleasure, right? Casual. You have to drink a lot of Coca-Cola because what does it have? If the children They are addicted to sugar, what’s wrong? “If people have diabetes, what do they have?” he said.
In this sense, the legislator said that her counterparts from the PAN and MC “only respond to some patrons” with whom they manage support, and gave as an example the case of tobacco companies such as Philip Morris, a company that she pointed out to have lobbyists in the Chamber of Deputies to avoid an increase in taxes on cigarettes.
At the end of the discussion, the Morenista Dolores Padierna defended the ruling to reform the IEPS Law, accusing the PRI and PAN of opposing the “healthy taxes” out of political pettiness. He warned that his objective is to reverse the damage left by the neoliberal system.
How was the IEPS Law?
The ruling was approved early this Friday in the Chamber of Deputies with 351 votes in favor, 129 against and one abstention, which established an increase in the tobacco tax, going from 160 to 200 percent for cigars, and from 30.4 to 32 percent for cigars and handmade tobacco. In addition, the specific fee per cigarette will increase from 0.6445 pesos in 2025 to 1.1584 pesos in 2030, with annual adjustments to maintain its real value against inflation.
According to the opinion, these measures seek to reduce the affordability of tobacco and discourage its consumption, in compliance with the constitutional right to health. In the case of flavored drinks, such as soft drinks, the specific fee per liter is doubled, which will go from 1.6451 pesos in 2025 to 3.0818 pesos in 2026, both for those that contain added sugars and for those with artificial sweeteners.
The reform also defines the concept of sweetener within the Law and exempts oral serums that contain only glucose, sodium chloride, potassium chloride and trisodium citrate from the tax.
While in terms of games with bets and raffles, the IEPS rate was raised from 30 to 50 percent, also applicable to bets made online or by electronic means, both from national and foreign providers.
In turn, the reform included an eight percent tax on the sale or download of video games with violent, extreme or adult content, applicable to both physical and digital formats, and memberships or services that allow access or purchase of additional content.
With information from Perla Velázquez.