Dehoga North Rhine-Westphalia is calling on the NRW state government to enshrine a fundamental ban on municipal packaging taxes in law, as is the case in Bavaria.
Dehoga North Rhine-Westphalia is calling on the NRW state government, follow the example of Bavaria and to enshrine a fundamental ban on municipal packaging taxes in law, even if he is in favour of clean cities and municipalities and less waste. Following a decision by the Federal Constitutional Court on the fundamental legality of the Tübingen packaging tax, there are more and more plans, also in North Rhine-Westphalian municipalities, to introduce such local taxes.
„Packaging taxes are not only ineffective in terms of their ecological impact, above all they mean more bureaucracy, while there are calls for less bureaucracy up and down the country. Additional bureaucracy is created for local authorities and businesses alike, and it is a burden on small and medium-sized companies in particular, which are already struggling with high costs and a shortage of skilled labour.“
Patrick Rothkopf, President of Dehoga NRW
The delimitation of which packaging may and may not be legally subject to the tax for which purpose leads to complex, impractical and therefore also justiciable instructions in practice - the interpretation notes in Tübingen, for example, therefore comprise 22 pages. „If the state government is serious about reducing bureaucracy, it has a good opportunity here to prove it.“ According to Section 2 II KAG NRW, local taxes such as municipal packaging taxes that are introduced for the first time require the approval of the ministry responsible for local government and the ministry responsible for finance.
The hotel and restaurant association also fears that the packaging tax increased prices lead to lower sales in affected companies especially with cost-sensitive guest groups.
„We stand for more sustainability in the hospitality industry and for clean cities and municipalities - but not through additional taxes and higher prices, but through incentives for more reusable packaging and a comprehensive reusable packaging infrastructure,“ Rothkopf emphasises in conclusion.
Source: Dehoga NRW
