Health
Pharmaceutical industry: Solidarity tax is unconstitutional
The pharmaceutical industry sees the planned solidarity levy for health insurance companies in conflict with the Basic Law. Photo: Alexander Heinl/dpa-tmn
© dpa-infocom GmbH
With his plan to support health insurance companies with one billion euros from the pharmaceutical industry in 2023, Federal Minister of Health Lauterbach has made no friends in the industry that has been asked to pay.
The pharmaceutical industry sees the solidarity levy planned by the Federal Ministry of Health to stabilize the health insurance funds as conflicting with the Basic Law.
The President of the Association of Research-Based Drug Manufacturers, Han Steutel, told the editorial network Germany (RND) that, outside of tax law, the Federal Constitutional Court rightly imposed narrow limits on the state’s ability to levy special taxes. This also applies to the restructuring aid from the pharmaceutical industry for the statutory health insurance companies, known as the “solidarity contribution”. “I still don’t see how the state intends to meet the criteria of the judiciary,” emphasized Steutel.
The association argues in one available to the RND
Opinion, inter alia, according to the case law of
The Federal Constitutional Court must pay a special fee
Benefit payers themselves. That would be the case, for example, if the funds were used to support pharmaceutical companies. The purpose of the levy, however, is to limit the increase in contribution rates in statutory health insurance. This is a matter of concern to society as a whole.
Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD) is planning a billion euros as a solidarity levy from the industry in 2023. It is intended to help cover a deficit of 17 billion euros in statutory health insurance. There are also increased additional contributions for those with statutory health insurance. An increased tax subsidy and the use of reserves from health insurance companies and the health fund are also planned.