Klingbeil pushes sugar tax back onto the agenda

Lars Klingbeil is not backing away from the sugar tax, even after the Chancellery put the draft on hold. The finance minister and SPD leader says the government has already agreed on the principle and that the levy will be introduced. He also expects the dispute to be settled quickly — a familiar promise in Berlin, where delay is often presented as momentum.

The plan would apply from July 2027 to drinks containing at least five grams of sugar per 100 millilitres. It would be introduced in three stages and could reach 38 cents per litre. Klingbeil argues that the measure is about prevention and child protection, and he says there is broad support in the population.

Yet the objections are not hard to understand. Government circles say the Chancellery stopped the draft because it departs from the recommendation of the Health Finance Commission and is not currently capable of winning a majority in government. The commission had suggested only two stages and a ceiling of 32 cents per litre. It also calculated annual revenue of around 450 million euros, while the draft is built around roughly one billion euros.

That difference matters because Klingbeil is not hiding the fiscal motive. He wants the revenue to help shore up the federal budget. A Chancellery protocol cited by Bild described the tax as being very strongly driven by budget considerations and said it should bring in more, not less. So the measure is supposed to do two jobs at once: improve health and fill the coffers.

Industry, predictably, is unimpressed. Christoph Minhoff, head of the food industry association, accused Klingbeil of reaching into the pockets of the weaker sections of society to cover up failed savings efforts. The German Brewers Association and the German Association of Soft Drink Industry expect higher prices for drinks.

The coalition dispute has also widened the political irritation. Alexander Schweitzer, the SPD deputy leader, called the Chancellery’s public stop surprising and said it did not help either the issue itself or cooperation in government. On a matter such as protecting children from too much sugar, he argued, neither side gains from a public fight. Schweitzer, who is serving as interim SPD chief in Rhineland-Palatinate, noted that black-red governs there as well as in Berlin.

Whether the tax will survive in a slimmer version remains open. What is already clear is that the government is still trying to reconcile health policy, child protection and budget repair in one package, while the Chancellery and industry keep pushing back.

Written by Christiane Hofreiter christiane.hofreiter@alpineweekly.com