Federal Minister of Agriculture Cem Özdemir sent the document with the key points of the so-called animal welfare penny to the three traffic light factions. This is a tax on the consumption of meat products, as reported by the newspaper “Bild”.
How exactly is the meat tax structured?
The tax should therefore apply to certain animal products and is modeled on the coffee tax. According to the key issue paper, the goal of the tax is to create “tax revenue for important policy projects, primarily agriculture and food.”
“Meat, meat products and edible offal” must be taxed, as well as “products made with a certain proportion of meat, meat products or edible offal.” The tax surcharge should be per kilogram of meat.
How much is the meat tax?
It's still not clear. According to the key points document, the level of the tax rate should be decided “politically.” However, there are already concrete suggestions, for example from the Federal Environment Agency. The authority had already presented corresponding plans for 2022. Meat and meat products should no longer pay the reduced tax rate of 7 percent, but the full tax rate.
“What is environmentally friendly should be cheaper; what is harmful to the environment should no longer be subsidized by the state with too low taxes,” said Dirk Messner, president of the Federal Office, in a statement from press.
Where will meat become more expensive with the new tax?
Özdemir had repeatedly advocated for a tax on meat and meat products, the proceeds of which would be used to help farmers convert their stables. It is just “a few cents more per kilo”, said the Greens politician in the Bundestag in mid-January.
“If curry sausage becomes a few cents more expensive, then the fear of a shit storm is great,” said the minister. An “animal welfare center” would be an “investment in the future of agriculture and rural areas in Germany.” However, wholesalers such as the discount giant Aldi or the supermarket chain Edeka have been implementing intensive sustainability programs for years. Companies receive financial support, also for renovation work.
A meat tax not only affects the direct consumption of meat, but has a ripple effect on various industries and services that use or offer meat in some form.
- First, consumer prices for meat products would be supermarkets and butcher shops increase, which would be the most direct impact.
- This increase in costs could also be reflected in Restaurants , Cafes and Appetizers expand where meat dishes could become more expensive.
- Furthermore, the costs for Banquet services and Events where meat dishes are offered, are increasing.
- In it Food industry Companies that process meat or produce products containing meat could also be affected by higher prices, which could lead to price increases for a wide range of products.
“The animal welfare penny proposed by Federal Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir is an important step in the right direction,” several animal welfare organizations wrote in a joint statement. These include the German Association for Animal Welfare, German Environment Aid, Greenpeace, WWF and ProVieh. “It would ease the burden on farmers and support them in the urgently needed conversion of their stables into an animal-friendly environment,” is the key message.