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Traffic light surprise in the coalition agreement - detail canceled at short notice?

2021-11-25T08:41:52.161Z


As initially reported, the coalition agreement of the traffic light alliance does not contain a sugar tax. Is there a move by the FDP behind this?


As initially reported, the coalition agreement of the traffic light alliance does not contain a sugar tax.

Is there a move by the FDP behind this?

+++ 4.45 p.m.:

Apparently a so-called sugar tax is not included in the plans of the traffic light coalition.

In the published coalition agreement, “sugar” is mentioned in exactly two places, but not in the context of a tax.

On the one hand, the SPD, the Greens and the FDP want to ban “advertising aimed at children for foods with a high sugar, fat and salt content” on TV programs aimed at a target group under 14 years of age.

On the other hand, the coalition wants to create “scientifically sound and target group-specific reduction targets for sugar, fat and salt”.

No sugar tax in the coalition agreement between the SPD, Greens and FDP

Various media had previously reported on a possible sugar tax in the coalition agreement.

After the coalition agreement was announced, rumors circulated on Twitter that the FDP had succeeded in deleting a passage shortly before the announcement.

However, there is no confirmation of this.

For example, the ARD journalist Oskar Vitlif questioned the lack of a sugar tax in the coalition agreement.

First report from Wednesday, November 24th,

2021

, 2 p.m .:

Munich / Berlin - With the election promise of no tax increases, the FDP * entered the federal election in 2021 *.

The first concession in this regard will follow shortly afterwards: the sugar tax *.

It is widely considered a foregone conclusion between the Ampel members, the SPD, the Greens * and the FDP, to levy a tax on particularly sweet drinks.

+

Two boys stand in front of a refrigerated shelf in a supermarket and choose drinks

© Li Hao / dpa

Germany would have to obtain an exception for this, however, since the countries within the EU are trying to harmonize their consumption taxes.

Achieving this is by no means unrealistic.

In Germany, such taxes already exist on goods such as beer, sparkling wine and coffee, which are especially intended for consumption only.

When he was still a member of the EU in 2018, Great Britain * had enacted a sugar tax on beverages.

Since then, it has been possible to study the consequences of a sugar tax in detail.

UK: UK sugar tax leads to lower sugar content in beverages

The amount and graduation of the tax for Germany is still unknown. Since April 2018, a fee has been due in Great Britain depending on the sugar content of the drink. If it contains more than five grams of sugar in 100 milliliters, it is the equivalent of 21 cents, from eight grams it is 33 cents. Normally, the manufacturers pass this tax on to the customer as a price increase, which means that sales decline.

According to a study by Oxford University, the average sugar content of soft drinks fell from 4.4 to 2.9 grams per 100 milliliters between 2015 and 2018 with the introduction of the tax in Great Britain.

The manufacturers reacted by changing the range.

Sales of high-sugar beverages have halved in the period under review, while sales of water bottles and low-sugar beverages have risen by 40 percent, according to the Oxford scientists.

"The sugar tax created media attention and business incentives."

Sugar tax: 60 percent of companies consider it positive

In a survey conducted at the British Soft Drinks Association's congress two years after the introduction of the tax, company representatives were asked for their assessment: 60 percent considered it positive, 10 percent negative. Another 30 percent stated that the effects for their company were negligible. In addition, 33 percent of those surveyed opted for more natural sweeteners, 26 percent wanted to work on the taste of the substitutes in order to forestall concerns about a lot of sugar in their beverages.

The arguments cited in Germany against a sugar tax * are in contrast to the actual developments in Great Britain.

The food association and the sweeteners association in Germany state that controlling taste through taxes or regulations has no influence on eating habits.

Accordingly, bans did not lead to a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle.

Rather, one must support consumers in enjoying in moderation.

FDP wants to prevent sugar tax: "Recipes are based on customer requirements"

The FDP joins this. "Recipes are based on customer requirements," said Carina Konrad, a member of the Bundestag, who categorically rejected a sugar tax. "The artificial increase in the price of products will not make their consumption meaningful," she told the business courier.

In the new government, which will present its coalition agreement on Wednesday (November 24th, 2021), supporters of this opinion seem to be in the minority.

The consumer advocates of the Foodwatch organization are therefore very satisfied with the course of the coalition negotiations.

"A soda tax would be a huge step in the fight against malnutrition and diet-related diseases - that must now be clearly stated in the new coalition agreement," says Saskia Reinbeck from Foodwatch.

Foodwatch also welcomes restrictions on advertising for so-called junk food on the part of the government.

Sparkling wine for the navy: How the sparkling wine tax paid two armies

In Germany, the sparkling wine tax (Sektsteuer) is discussed again and again.

It is a consumption tax.

100 percent of the proceeds go to the federal government.

The total income in 2020 was a good 400 million euros.

So there is around one euro in taxes on a 0.75 liter bottle of sparkling wine.

When the levy was first raised in 1902 by Kaiser Wilhelm II, it was used to build the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal and the construction of a navy.

But when the economic crisis peaked in 1933, the government suspended the tax to stimulate the economy.

It was only reintroduced in 1939, again earmarked for warfare, especially submarine development.

Sugar tax should be used in a targeted manner: beer and sparkling wine tax as a model

Originally, the sparkling wine tax was used exclusively for a specific purpose.

However, it was not abolished after the end of the war, but still exists today.

All income flows into the general budget of the federal government.

But the beer tax can also be used as a model for the sugar tax, both of which have more in common in many respects.

The beer tax was first raised in Ulm in 1220 and is based on the amount of original wort in the beer.

Even then, it was supposed to serve to reduce consumption.

This made it part of the steering tax, which it still is: Alcohol-free beer is therefore free of beer tax.

The purpose of the sugar tax is to steer consumption as well as to generate income for specific purposes.

According to the ideas of the consumer advocates, the income should flow into the promotion of nutritional education measures for children and adolescents and into healthy school and daycare catering.

(lz / tu)

* fr.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2021-11-25

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