Our submission to the Ministry of National Treasury emphasizes the vital connection between economic and public health well-being. We propose abandoning the current practice of bundling all tax proposals into a single Finance Bill, which often groups public health-related taxes (like alcohol and tobacco) with more controversial proposals. This approach hinders the acceptance of critical health taxes, which are widely supported due to their public health benefits.

Key recommendations:

• Segment health taxes (alcohol, tobacco, sugar-sweetened beverages) from contentious tax proposals.
• Introduce alcohol and tobacco tax reforms separately with clear implementation plans, avoiding the omnibus Finance Bill approach.
• Health excise taxes should be tabled outside the traditional budget-making timeline to ensure timely action in safeguarding public health.

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