Ahead of the 2027 Economic Package presentation, the Moderniza IEPS collective and various beverage producers are urging Congress and the Finance Secretariat to modify the sector’s tax structure.

The initiative seeks to replace the current ad valorem scheme (which taxes 53% of the product’s invoice value) with an ad quantum model (a fixed rate based on alcohol content). Under the current system, roughly 600 pesos of a 1,000-peso bottle go toward taxes. The new proposal suggests charging 1.68 pesos per degree of pure alcohol per liter; a 40-degree mezcal would therefore only pay 67.20 pesos in IEPS.

While craft brewers support the ad quantum scheme to mitigate the tax impact on their high production costs, industrial breweries have expressed concerns over potential revenue drops. However, economic models developed by experts at El Colegio de México project that government revenues will remain stable even if industrial beer is included in the new formula.

From a public health perspective, the measure aligns with WHO and PAHO recommendations to tax by alcohol degree, making high-proof, low-cost drinks more expensive. This also targets the illicit market—which currently accounts for 40% of national volume—linked to fatal adulteration cases, such as the tragic June 2026 methanol poisonings in Guanajuato that left six dead and dozens blind. To detail the reform’s viability, Moderniza IEPS will present a book outlining its mathematical and social foundations to Congress on Tuesday, September 8, 2026.