Beverage tax: Why the finance minister is now backtracking on the sugar tax
After much criticism, Vice Chancellor Klingbeil is abandoning the plan to also tax zero drinks with a sugar tax - and is blaming his own people. Internally, the anger is growing.
German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil sparked controversy with a proposed sugar tax that would also apply to sugar-free drinks with sweeteners, such as Coke Zero and sugar-free smoothies. The proposal, outlined in a paper from his ministry, was met with public ridicule and criticism, prompting Klingbeil to issue a clarification on Instagram, stating that there would be no sugar tax on zero-calorie drinks.
The paper had suggested that the tax could raise up to 2 billion euros, significantly more than the initially planned 250 million euros. The plan has been met with resistance from other ministries, including the Ministry of Agriculture.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's report — not a translation of it. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
