Plastic tax: postponed in Germany

The federal budget was hotly debated at the end of 2023. Now, the coalition leaders in Germany have agreed on changes to the plastic tax, which was previously paid to the EU from tax revenue and was to be replaced by a levy on polluters from 2025.

However, according to statements by Federal Finance Minister, Christian Lindner, the plastic tax will now be postponed and not implemented as planned on 1 January 2025.

The reason for the postponement is that the law will not be ready in time and problems exist with data collection and the subsequent bureaucratic effort.

The Federal Chancellery, the Federal Ministry of the Environment and Consumer Protection and the Federal Ministry of Finance are currently discussing solutions and implementation options.

The EU plastic levy will therefore continue to be paid from state coffers and not by polluters.

The levy is estimated at 80 cents per kilogram of plastic packaging waste, which results in an annual transfer of 1.4 billion euros to the EU.

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