Union rules out plastic tax as SPD keeps draft alive

Union rules out the tax

Thorsten Frei, leader of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag, said on Sunday evening, 8 November, on ZDF's 'Berlin direkt' that the coalition will not introduce the plastic tax. He argued that the levy would have a wrong effect, one that is economic as well as ecological. The Union had voiced doubts about the planned charge for weeks, and Frei's answer moves the party from doubt to outright rejection. Earlier that Sunday, CDU finance expert Matthias Middelberg and Miersch had still pointed to coalition talks running. Frei put his position plainly:

“We are not going to introduce the plastic tax, because it would have a wrong effect, not only economically but also ecologically.”

SPD holds to the draft

SPD parliamentary group leader Matthias Miersch takes the opposite line. In ARD's 'Bericht aus Berlin' he said a tax of this kind has to steer behaviour, that a first draft already exists and that the matter is therefore not off the table. He said the coalition deliberations are still under way, that doubts within the coalition are public knowledge, and that the outcome remains open. Miersch also said parliamentarians have a duty to check whether the whole plan points in the right direction.

What the draft would do

The draft would charge 550 euros for each tonne of plastic in packaging from July 2027. Taxable items would include plastic packaging and films, and composite packaging where the plastic share exceeds 5%, covering films, transport and packaging aids, closures, lids and plastic capsules. The levy would fall on the manufacture, shipment or import of such packaging. Packaging made from recycled plastic could be exempt on application, and private individuals passing on products would stay tax-free. Around three million tonnes of plastic packaging a year could initially be taxed, a volume the bill's explanatory notes expect to decline over time.

Budget stakes

Finance minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD) plans with the proceeds. The draft projects additional revenue of 805 million euros for 2027, rising to just under 1.5 billion euros a year from 2028. Without the tax, a gap of around 670 million euros would have to be closed in the final 2027 budget deliberations. Environment minister Carsten Schneider (SPD) told ZDF's 'Morgenmagazin' on Monday, 9 November, that the Union has to come up with alternatives by 12 November. The plastic tax, he said, was an agreement from the coalition committee in the spring, meant to steer ecologically and to secure the budget. Schneider put it this way:

“Sound fiscal policy is decisive, especially in these years and these days, and that is why the Union has an obligation to make other proposals.”

Planned additional revenue 2027805

Budget gap for 2027 if tax is dropped670

Planned additional revenue 2027

805 million euros

Budget gap for 2027 if tax is dropped

670 million euros

Data from the article text

Other tax plans

Frei also addressed other tax increases in the coalition's plans. Revenue from a sugar tax should go to the health fund and finance relief for statutory health insurance, he said. He called the planned rise in alcohol tax acceptable in its current design. The tobacco tax increase has already been decided. The CSU had asked for a later start to the alcohol tax rise and for dropping the increase on sparkling wine tax.

What comes next

The budget committee of the Bundestag meets on Thursday, 12 November, for its so-called Bereinigungssitzung, where the final changes to the 2027 budget are made before the Bundestag votes on it. The Union has until that day to propose ways to close the gap, according to Schneider. Until then the coalition's position on the plastic tax stays unresolved, with the Union rejecting it and the SPD keeping the draft alive.