Overview
- Reports published on Tuesday showed a leaked Finance Ministry Eckpunkte paper proposing a three‑tier levy that starts at 4.5 g sugar per 100 ml with rates of €0.26, €0.32 and €0.38 per liter and a €0.26 floor for drinks sweetened with non‑sugar sweeteners.
- The draft expands coverage well beyond classic soft drinks to include syrups, concentrates, ready coffees, milk‑based and plant‑based drinks, juices from concentrate and some alcohol‑free beers and wines to prevent consumer or producer substitution.
- The Agriculture Ministry has lodged a formal Leitungsvorbehalt against the paper and produced higher revenue estimates of about €2 billion a year, directly challenging the Finance Ministry’s projection of roughly €650 million for 2027 and creating a sharp coalition dispute.
- Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil has defended the broader design as a health‑steering measure to reduce sugar intake, while critics from FDP, CDU/CSU and some industry groups say taxing Zero drinks undermines the public‑health goal and looks like a revenue grab.
- The Eckpunkte remain an internal workpaper, not law, with timing, rates and product lists still negotiable in the legislative process and international examples such as the UK and Mexico cited for potential effects on reformulation and consumption.