🔶"Germany’s Chancellor’s Office blocks implementation of sugar tax"

🔶"Germany’s Chancellor’s Office blocks implementation of sugar tax"

Germany’s Chancellor’s Office has, for now, opposed a draft law by Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) to introduce a tax on sugar-containing beverages.

According to government sources announced on Thursday, October 1 (September 9): «To implement the sugar tax, the basis agreed upon is the proposal of the Health Finance Commission. The proposal of the Ministry of Finance departs from this basis and, in this form, does not have a majority in the government.»

The root of the dispute appears to be the significant difference in estimates of the government’s revenue from the sugar tax.

The tax is expected to be implemented from July 1, 2027 (mid-Tir). The Health Finance Commission had predicted that the revenue from it would be more than 400 million euros.

However, the Ministry of Finance, headed by Klingbeil, in its calculations for the second half of 2027, has assumed revenue of about 650 million euros from the tax on sugar-producing products. The ministry also forecast revenue of about 1.2 billion euros per year for the years after 2028.