Is caramel popcorn just like any other popcorn? No, argued India’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, which sets the rates at which various goods are taxed.
Earlier this month, the council announced that unbranded popcorn mixed with salt and spices would be taxed at 5%, but caramel popcorn, which it classifies as a sugar confectionery, would be taxed at 18%.
India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman explained that the presence of added sugar makes caramel popcorn a “mita” or confectionery, thus attracting tax in a different category than regular popcorn.
The decision infuriated the Indians, sparking a series of memes and criticism online.
“Our country’s tax system has truly evolved, popcorn has become the gold standard of luxury,” wrote one user on X.
An Instagram influencer and celebrity known as Ori commented that caramel popcorn is bad for “financial health.”
Jairam Ramesh, a spokesman for the main opposition Congress party, said the “absurdity of three different tax slabs for popcorn under the GST… only brings to light a deeper problem: the increasing complexity of a system that was supposed to be good and simple Tax Office”.
