Report: Government Wants to Increase Tobacco Tax More than Planned
The increase would lift cigarette pack prices to about €12, and officials say it would help close a budget gap and reduce smoking.
- On Monday, Friedrich Merz's coalition government plans to increase tobacco duties more sharply than previously planned, aiming to fill budget gaps and protect public health.
- A Ministry of Finance drafting guide cited by Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland newspapers shows cigarette packets will gradually rise to around €12 , up from €8 currently.
- This policy shift could affect some 25% of the German population, including citizens 15 and older who smoke boxed cigarettes, cigars, cigarillos, or a pipe, per Eurostat.
- Government sources stated the increase "also serves to protect public health and is in line with the federal government's aim of reducing smoking rates among young people and adults."
- The ruling coalition indicated the duty hike is intended to address existing budget gaps, reflecting a broader strategy to balance federal finances amid fiscal pressures.
44 Articles
44 Articles
The Federal Government has not been able to go through drastic austerity measures. Instead, it prefers to increase revenue – as with the tobacco tax. This is not health protection, but the path of least resistance.
The government is dramatically increasing the tobacco tax. Critics speak of household tricks, advocates of health protection – and millions of smokers stand in between.
The black-red federal government increases the tobacco tax even more than planned. A comment by Georg Anastasiadis.
Cigarette Consumption - Coalition Apparently Wants to Raise Tobacco Tax More than Previously Planned
The coalition of the Union and SPD is considering increasing the tobacco tax more than previously planned.
(Berlin=Yonhap News) Correspondent Kim Gye-yeon = The German government, struggling with a budget deficit, has decided to drastically raise tobacco taxes to make up for the shortfall.
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- 39% of the sources lean Right
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