Sugar, plastic and electricity taxes: The open construction sites in the budget

Plastic tax, sugar tax, alcohol tax: this government had lots of ideas to close the gaps in the budget. And they have to be closed - until Thursday, when the final touches to the budget are made in the Bundestag's adjustment session.

“We still have a few construction sites,” says the financial policy spokesman for the Union faction, Fritz Güntzler, to the ARD capital studio. A few construction sites where some people are building walls, others are sawing and a few are trying to tear things down again.

The sugar tax

There is resistance in the Union against the sugar tax, and a list of signatures is even said to be circulating. With the names of more than a dozen MPs who oppose a tax on sugary drinks. Union parliamentary group leader Thorsten Frei tries somehow to express on ZDF that they are in favor of the sugar tax. It has a steering effect, says Frei. This means that less sugar is likely to be consumed.

In addition, the income should be used to relieve the burden on statutory health insurance companies. So the sugar tax can come - provided Frei has his Union faction under control.

At the moment it is more about when it will come: The Union is aiming to delay the start by half a year, to January 1, 2028.

The plastic tax

A tax on plastic packaging is also planned. This is not a matter of when, but of if. At the Union, even the leadership of the parliamentary group is taking a stand: “We are not doing the plastic tax,” said Frei on Sunday evening on ZDF. There are doubts about the effect of this tax, which would involve a lot of bureaucratic effort, even in the SPD, as parliamentary group leader Matthias Miersch indicated on ARD: "As parliamentarians, we of course have an obligation to see whether this is all going in the right direction and to that extent we will discuss it."

If the plastic tax doesn't come, there will be a lack of money in the budget. From 2028 more than one billion euros per year. Environment Minister Carsten Schneider (SPD) sees the Union as responsible, as he told Deutschlandfunk: "Now the Union has to make proposals by Thursday on how we can close the hole in the budget." The Chancellor also has a proposal, although not one that closes holes, but rather one that creates new ones.

The electricity tax

Friedrich Merz would like to reduce electricity taxes for everyone. That would cost the federal government around five billion euros a year and bring a German household an average gain of around five to ten euros a month.

“These are exactly the discussions that are currently underway,” says a government spokesman, adding: “The political will is clearly there.” Or as the Union's financial policy spokesman, Fritz Güntzler, says: "Since the Chancellor has specified this, I am pretty sure that we will find a way."

So ways are being sought, there will be negotiations, haggling and high stakes in the last days and hours before the budget adjustment meeting.