According to a Forsa survey, the majority of people in Germany support a sugar tax

Many people in Germany are open to a special tax on sugary drinks, various surveys show. According to a survey by the market research institute Forsa, a majority even supports the planned introduction of a sugar tax. Accordingly, 55 percent of the 1,002 respondents were in favor of it, 44 percent rejected it, and one percent did not provide any information. The survey was commissioned by »Stern« and RTL.

The approval is particularly high among supporters of the Greens at 87 percent. Of the CDU/CSU and SPD supporters, 76 and 77 percent respectively supported the tax. It is rejected comparatively often in East Germany and by AfD supporters.

The polling institute YouGov had previously found that people were rather divided when they surveyed 4,280 people. YouGov asked on August 26, 2026, and Forsa asked on the following two days. According to YouGov, 43 percent of those surveyed were in favor of a tax on sugary drinks, and 44 percent were of the opinion that there should be no additional tax on drinks in principle.

As part of the negotiations on the austerity package for statutory health insurance, the black-red coalition agreed on a sugar tax from 2027. The details are currently being worked out in the Federal Ministry of Finance. The amount of the tax should depend on the sugar content of the drinks.

Dispute over sugar tax on sugar substitutes

The federal government is currently preparing a tax on highly sweetened drinks. The Union and the SPD had agreed to introduce a tax on sugary drinks such as colas and lemonades from 2027 as part of the passed law for stable health insurance contributions. The background is recommendations from a commission set up by the Ministry of Health, which presented reform proposals.

The coalition agreement envisaged revenue of 650 million euros; Industry associations expect significantly higher revenues.

Proposals from the Federal Ministry of Finance recently caused confusion, according to which, among other things, drinks sweetened with sweeteners such as Cola Zero as well as fruit juices, mixed milk drinks and non-alcoholic beer could also be recorded. An internal paper from the ministry that became known caused a considerable stir because it included the extension of the tax to drinks containing substitute substances.