“We are currently rejecting the draft” – CSU is slowing down on new taxes

Shortly before the crucial discussions on the 2027 federal budget, the CSU state group is slowing down the implementation of the planned new taxes or tax increases. “We are currently rejecting the draft plastic tax,” said CSU regional group leader Alexander Hoffmann on Tuesday in Berlin.

"We are calling for a later date for the alcohol tax. We want to prevent the sparkling wine tax from being increased," he added. When it comes to the sugar tax, the “desired date” for its introduction is January 1, 2028.

The Federal Ministry of Finance, however, wants to raise the tax from July 1, 2027. If there are actually any changes to taxes compared to the Finance Ministry's plans, this would immediately be reflected in the current budget planning for 2027.

“Electricity tax has great symbolic significance for us”

On the other hand, there are signs of a slight backtracking in the Union when it comes to demands for a reduction in electricity taxes and compensation for the so-called cold progression. “The topic of electricity tax has a lot of symbolic significance for us, it’s in the coalition agreement, and that’s why we don’t want to say goodbye to it lightly,” said Hoffmann when asked.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz had repeatedly called for the electricity tax to be reduced. He said on Tuesday at the Berlin Chamber of Industry and Commerce that he would fight for it, but could not promise whether it would actually be implemented. Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD) does not currently believe this can be financed because of the foregoing tax revenue of four to five billion euros per year.

When it came to balancing the so-called cold progression in income tax, demanded by CSU boss Markus Söder, Hoffmann pointed out that the consent of the states was needed for this. Except for Bavaria and Hesse, the prime ministers are not prepared to do this. The compensation would mean that the tax rate levels would be adjusted to inflation-related increases, such as wage increases.

These days, the final discussions on the 2027 federal budget are taking place at the top of the black-red federal government. Hoffmann said that the budget also had to take into account the reduced spending due to the falling number of new refugees. In addition, the federal government should take a closer look at the expenditure in the budget for the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and work harder on reducing personnel.