Federal government plans sugar tax instead of special levy on beverages

Constitutional concerns

The reason for the change is constitutional concerns, the newspaper writes, citing government circles. After all, this levy would have been a special levy that, from a legal perspective, would have to benefit those from whom it is collected – in this case not the insured, but the manufacturers themselves.

The sugar tax, by contrast, would be an excise tax, whose revenues would benefit all insured individuals. Henning Tappe, a constitutional law scholar at the University of Cologne, also confirms this assessment in an interview with the newspaper. "Da die Produzenten von Süßgetränken aber eine andere Gruppe als die Versicherten seien, scheide diese Variante aus," Tappe said regarding the special levy. "Führt man die Zuckersteuer als Verbrauchsteuer ein, so ist das unproblematisch."

Position of the beverage industry

Tappe also pointed out that a special levy must meet strict requirements under the case law of the Federal Constitutional Court. "Von den Einnahmen dürften dann alle Versicherten profitieren, schließlich würden aus dem allgemeinen Steuertopf heute schon Zuschüsse an die gesetzlichen Krankenkassen überwiesen."

The Health Ministry under Nina Warken (CDU) and the Finance Ministry led by Lars Klingbeil (SPD) declined to comment when asked by the newspaper. Responsibility for the draft therefore lies with the Finance Ministry.

Open questions and outlook

In the German beverage industry, the plan is meeting fierce resistance. In an open letter, more than 300 companies in the sector appealed to policymakers and warned against additional burdens. The companies had limited financial, personnel, and administrative resources and had already been overloaded in recent years by rising costs, for example for energy, logistics, packaging, and staff.

The industry also argues that the tax would hit consumers: "Für die Bürgerinnen und Bürger ist die geforderte Steuer mit zusätzlichen Belastungen und höheren Ausgaben verbunden. Jede Preiserhöhung für Lebensmittel wird Haushalte mit niedrigem Haushaltseinkommen in besonderer Weise treffen – und dies in Zeiten ohnehin hoher und weiter steigender Preise."

It remains unclear how high the tax will be concretely and which beverages will be covered exactly. The original 2028 timeline could also be delayed. The final decision is expected with the cabinet's deliberation at the beginning of the coming week.