Such a tax would push the price of salted fish, a common dietary fare among Filipinos and more particularly the poor, and burden a sector already disadvantaged with still another imposition.

Health advocates propose a tax on salty food that one legislator calls out as inflationary. Finance officials are willing to hear them out and agreed on Friday to meet with them to flesh out the issues involved. roman prospero

Finance and health officials plan a meeting to thresh out issues arising from a proposed tax on salty food, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said on Friday.

He told financial reporters the proposed meeting has not been set yet but agreed such a discussion is important.

“(We) have to discuss this thoroughly with them,” Dominguez told reporters.

Earlier, the Department of Health (DoH) bared a plan to tax salty products such as snack food quite popular among Filipinos and the consumption of which are unhealthy.

Health officials particularly said their consumption only increase the likelihood of such deadly diseases as hypertension and kidney conditions.

To reduce the probability of contracting such conditions, the DoH cited a World Health Organization report suggesting a daily salt intake of less than five grams a day as healthy.

Filipinos, however, tend to consume more than double the amount at 11 to 15 grams a day.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III recognized the positive impact of imposing so-called sin products with a higher tax and thus the plan to do the same on salty products to help manage consumption.

“We have seen the positive effects of increasing taxes on sin products. The same strategy might work for excessive consumption of salt,” Duque said.

House Committee Chairman for Ways and Means Joey Salceda had said the DoH is both inflationary and regressive.

Such a tax would push the price of salted fish, a common dietary fare among Filipinos and more particularly the poor, and burden a sector already disadvantaged with still another imposition.

“(We) are also concerned that this will constitute a tax on the entire food item,” Salceda said.

“There is a world of difference between alcohol and cigarettes versus sugar and salt,” he added.