Overview
- Regional party SSW has submitted a motion to scrap value‑added tax on what it calls healthy foods to cut grocery bills and steer diets toward fresh produce.
- National politicians, including CDU figure Jens Spahn and Green party co‑leader Ricarda Lang, say a zero rate on basic foods could be part of a wider relief package, though final terms remain open.
- Economists caution a broad food VAT cut would be expensive and less targeted, with one DIW estimate putting a zero rate at about €17 billion in lost revenue, and they propose direct cash payments instead.
- German VAT law applies 19% and 7% rates with no legal category for healthy foods, and a 2006 Federal Fiscal Court ruling keeps most plant‑based drinks at 19% because milk is defined as animal milk.
- Retailer Rewe and makers like Oatly back a petition with roughly 150,000 signatures to tax plant drinks at 7%, citing EU peers that align rates and pointing to quirks such as truffles taxed low while sweet potatoes face 19%.