Quiroz-Reyes J Alai, Morales-Ríos Jesús Enrique, Vargas-Flores Adriana, Sánchez-Ortiz Néstor A, Colchero M Arantxa
Center for Evaluation and Surveys Research, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México.
PLoS One. 2025 Mar 18;20(3):e0319922. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0319922. eCollection 2025.
In January 2014, Mexico introduced an excise tax of $1.00 Mexican peso/liter on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) and an 8% tax on non-essential energy dense food (NEDF) with at least 275 kilocalories/100 grams. Fiscal policies could be regressive when taxes generate a greater financial burden for low-income households compared to higher-income households. The objective of this study was to analyze whether SSB and NEDF taxes in Mexico were regressive using a nationally representative survey.
Information from the National Household Income and Expenditure Survey in Mexico in its 2014, 2016 and 2018 waves were used to estimate changes in expenditures on SSB and NEDF over total expenditures by income quintile and place of residence using own price elasticities, changes in prices after tax implementation and tax pass-through prices. We derived uncompensated own price elasticities using the Linear Approximation of the Almost Ideal Demand System.
Price elasticities -in absolute values- were higher in urban areas than in rural settings for SSB in 2014 and 2016, while the opposite was observed for NEDF. For SSB, price elasticities -in absolute values- among households in the highest income quintiles were lower than those in the lowest income quintiles. The tax paid for SSB and NEDF over total expenditures was higher among low-income households. However, the reduction in SSB expenditures over total expenditures in low-income households was higher compared to the highest income quintile. For NEDF, weekly expenditures in rural areas were lower than in urban areas for the lowest quintile, while for the highest quintile the reduction was similar.
Low-income households in urban and rural areas reduced the proportion spent on SSB and NEDF more compared to higher-income residents, counteracting the regressive burden of the taxes.
2014年1月，墨西哥对含糖饮料征收每升1墨西哥比索的消费税，并对每100克至少含有275千卡热量的非必需高能量食品征收8%的税。当税收给低收入家庭带来的经济负担比高收入家庭更大时，财政政策可能具有累退性。本研究的目的是使用具有全国代表性的调查来分析墨西哥的含糖饮料税和非必需高能量食品税是否具有累退性。
利用墨西哥2014年、2016年和2018年全国家庭收入和支出调查的数据，通过自身价格弹性、税收实施后的价格变化和税收转嫁价格，估算按收入五分位数和居住地划分的含糖饮料和非必需高能量食品支出在总支出中的变化。我们使用几乎理想需求系统的线性近似来推导无补偿自身价格弹性。
2014年和2016年，含糖饮料的价格弹性绝对值在城市地区高于农村地区，而非必需高能量食品则相反。对于含糖饮料，最高收入五分位数家庭的价格弹性绝对值低于最低收入五分位数家庭。低收入家庭支付的含糖饮料税和非必需高能量食品税在总支出中所占比例更高。然而，与最高收入五分位数家庭相比，低收入家庭的含糖饮料支出在总支出中的减少幅度更大。对于非必需高能量食品，最低收入五分位数家庭在农村地区的每周支出低于城市地区，而最高收入五分位数家庭的减少幅度相似。
与高收入居民相比，城乡低收入家庭在含糖饮料和非必需高能量食品上的支出比例下降幅度更大，抵消了税收的累退负担。
