Popcorn is taxed at three rates in India. A nation says this is why we’re a mess
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. A seemingly routine ruling by India’s top tax officials went off like metal in a microwave. The government laid out a three-tiered system for taxing popcorn depending on if it is packaged or sold loose, carries a brand name or is generic, and is salted or sweet.
Caramel popcorn, the government said in December, would be taxed at 18%—nearly akin to a luxury product. The people weren’t pleased. An explanation from India’s finance minister, chair of the tax council, didn’t help.
“I want to explain the whole background of the popcorn taxes to you: Salted popcorn, caramelized popcorn, plain popcorn," said Nirmala Sitharaman at a news conference in late December. “When it comes to popcorn’s tax treatment, as long as it is salty, whether it is with salt, spiced, tangy, chilli powder, that’s all 5%. But when it has added caramelized sugar, it is no longer salty." But the 5% will apply only if the popcorn is sold loose.
Put it in a sealed plastic packet and slap a label on it and the rate jumps to 12%. An accompanying press note explained further that caramel popcorn had transformed into a confectionery, and merited a correspondingly higher tax rate. The finance minister’s office didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The popcorn tax structure unleashed a flood of mocking memes, heated television debates and frustrated comments from prominent economists, including former advisers to the government. One called the ruling a “national tragedy." A cartoon showed Mahatma Gandhi, famous for his march against the British colonial monopoly on the sale of salt, which was heavily taxed, marching against popcorn taxes instead. For critics, the multiplicity of rates on the humble snack was emblematic of
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