Introduction of excise tax on sweet carbonated drinks: from myths to reality

An urgent task of the state financial policy for many countries is the development of economic measures and regulatory mechanisms aimed at reducing the consumption of products harmful to health. Excise taxes on alcohol and tobacco products, demonstrating the regulatory (disincentive) function of the tax, have become traditional methods in the field of limiting an unhealthy lifestyle. In the context of the pandemic nature of the increase in the global prevalence of obesity and diabetes mellitus, the policy of stimulating proper nutrition of the population, including through the use of financial instruments, is of practical interest. The analysis of the evolution of sweet taxes, foreign practice, the economic justification for the introduction of the excise tax on sweet carbonated drinks in Russia and the expected consequences allowed us to conclude that the details of the tax mechanism are insufficient to solve the problem of changing consumption within the framework of the policy of forming a healthy lifestyle of the population and not using the potential of the regulatory function of the tax. Alternative approaches and additional economic instruments are proposed to solve this problem.