The university town of Tübingen wants to use its own packaging tax to combat mountains of rubbish from French fries and coffee mugs – and has now received tailwind from the Federal Administrative Court. The highest German administrative court in Leipzig on Wednesday declared the Tübingen packaging tax statute to be essentially lawful (Az.: BVerwG 9 CN 1.22). The operator of a McDonald’s branch in Tübingen had sued, supported by the fast-food group. Tübingen’s Mayor Boris After the verdict was announced, Palmer (independent) spoke of a “great day for Tübingen and for climate protection in general”. Since the beginning of 2022, 50 cents each for disposable tableware and packaging and 20 cents for disposable cutlery have been due in Tübingen. The tax should be loud for each “single meal”. Statutes be limited to a maximum of 1.50 euros. The sellers of the food and drinks have to pay – according to the city, around 440 companies in Tübingen. McDonald’s had won in the lower court at the Administrative Court (VGH) in Mannheim. Tübingen had appealed against this judgment , which has now been decided in Leipzig.The judges in Baden-Württemberg had assumed that Tübingen lacked the competence to introduce the packaging tax. It is not a local tax. The VGH was strongly based on a judgment of the Federal Constitutional Court, which in 1998 had declared a very similar packaging tax statute of the city of Kassel to be void. During the oral hearing, the Federal Administrative Court repeatedly pointed out that waste legislation had changed over the past 25 years.
Court verdict: packaging tax permissible – economy
