Agreement after the Chancellor's veto - these are the details of the new sugar tax

After days of struggle, the black-red federal government has agreed on a compromise on the sugar tax. Fewer and lower tax brackets as well as more extensive exemptions for small beverage manufacturers contributed to this. The weakened draft law, which is available to WELT, is to be passed by the cabinet on Wednesday, as the Federal Ministry of Finance confirmed in the evening.

Instead of three, there should only be two tax levels: Drinks with at least five grams of sugar per 100 milliliters should now be taxed at 26 cents per liter, and eight grams of sugar per 100 milliliters or more at 32 cents per liter. The third tax level of 38 cents per liter originally planned by the Federal Ministry of Finance for particularly sugary drinks of ten grams per 100 milliliters or more was deleted without replacement in the version for the cabinet. The tax will be levied unchanged for the first time from July 1, 2027.

The reason that revenue is still expected to be higher is, among other things, that not only sugar-sweetened drinks such as soda and cola are to be subject to a sugar tax, but also concentrates and syrups. Exempt from the tax include natural fruit juices without added sugar and dietary supplements.

Non-alcoholic wine, non-alcoholic sparkling wine and non-alcoholic beer are also expressly exempt from the sugar tax. The same applies to mixed milk drinks, as well as soy, oat and rice drinks.

Small manufacturers are excluded

It depends not only on the type of drink, but also on the size of the manufacturer. Small independent producers with an annual production of up to 70,000 liters are to be fully exempt. A second exception is also new compared to the first draft: manufacturers with an annual production of up to one million liters should also not have to pay any tax. This regulation is classified as state aid and will only come into force once the EU Commission has approved it.

As part of the negotiations on the austerity package for statutory health insurance, the black-red coalition initially agreed on a sugar levy, which later became a sugar tax. Then a first key values ​​paper from the Federal Ministry of Finance made headlines because sugar-free drinks such as light and zero drinks were also to be taxed. Klingbeil made it clear shortly afterwards that a “sugar tax on sugar-free drinks” makes no sense. In addition, his ministry originally wanted to set the threshold at 4.5 grams per 100 milliliters.

After a draft from Klingbeil's house became known, the Federal Chancellery stopped the draft at the beginning of October. In the past few days, the government had said that the ministries concerned were “in good discussions” on the issue, but that there was still a need for final coordination. The final points were clarified shortly before the cabinet meeting on Wednesday.