As of: February 2, 2024, 2:31 p.m
By: Amy Walker
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The plastic tax has been postponed, but not repealed.
Companies and consumers are wondering who will bear the billions in costs.
Berlin - At the beginning of January, the federal government under Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) announced that the introduction of the plastic tax would be postponed, which initially reassured companies and consumers.
The new date for the introduction is now January 1, 2025. The federal government still needs time until then to develop an “efficient solution with as little bureaucracy as possible”.
But how is the whole thing implemented and what financial burden will consumers face?
1.4 billion a year: This is how much money the government is currently spending on plastic taxes
The CDU/CSU parliamentary group made a small inquiry and revealed that even a month after the postponement was announced, there were still uncertainties about the exact structure of the plastic tax.
Although the federal government stated that “various options” are being considered, the exact details of the levy are still being voted on.
It remains unclear who will ultimately levy the tax, which products it will apply to and which manufacturers will be affected.
The only thing that is certain is that the underlying CO₂ tax has existed for some time.
In 2021, the European Union (EU) set a plastic levy for its member states, according to which 80 cents per kilogram of non-recyclable plastic packaging waste must be paid to Brussels.
The federal government has borne this levy itself since its introduction.
In 2021 and 2022 the costs amounted to around 1.4 billion euros.
Now the companies responsible for the spread of plastic should cover these costs.
This allows the federal government to save money by passing the costs on to companies.
Association charges additional costs of 50 euros per head for the plastic tax
In the past few weeks, some sample calculations have emerged that show how high the costs could be for the Germans.
If plastic manufacturers pass on the levy 1:1, the price will depend on the amount of plastic purchased.
On average, Germans produce 38 kilograms of plastic waste per year (according to the Plastic Atlas), which is well above the EU average of 24 kilograms.
In this case, 30.4 euros would be due annually for a plastic tax.
The General Association of the Plastics Processing Industry (GKV) has a different point of view.
“We assume additional costs of an average of 50 euros per household,” said Dr.
Oliver Möllenstädt, General Manager of the GKV, at the request of
Ippen.Media
.
Lower-income households in particular could be more affected as they spend a larger share of their income on packaged goods.
Bureaucracy and financial costs “considerable”
In addition, there is an increased risk in terms of bureaucracy.
According to the GKV, the federal government plans not to collect the plastic tax directly from plastic producers, but rather at the level of the packaging and bottling industry and from retailers.
“There are around 1.2 million companies in Germany, each of which has to create its own virtual warehouse (clearing account) with customs,” says Möllenstädt.
This would also cause considerable additional costs for customs: the GKV estimates the financial outlay at over 420 million euros.
“The bureaucratic effort would be considerable.”
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A plastic tax is to be introduced from 2025.
(Symbolic image) © IMAGO/Gottfried Czepluch
In December, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection suggested that plastic manufacturers could reduce their profits to offset the new levy.
“Taxes or duties are not necessarily passed on 1:1,” explained the ministry on X. However, the GDK considers this to be “pure populism”.
Firstly, the tax would not be levied on plastics manufacturers, and secondly, 1.4 billion euros would be far too high an amount.
“Furthermore, as we understand it, this would not be the purpose of a tax that is intended to 'steer' consumers in any way.”
The Federal Environment Agency is currently investigating which economic instruments Germany could use to implement EU law at national level in order to reduce non-recyclable waste from plastic packaging.