The VAT on food in restaurants and cafés is set to rise again to 19 percent next year. The traffic light coalition has agreed on this. The catering industry fears a wave of bankruptcies.
The VAT on food in restaurants will be raised again to 19 percent at the beginning of the year. The governing coalition has agreed on this.
The “Bild” newspaper first reported that the traffic light coalition would not extend the reduction in VAT. The FDP, which had called for an extension until the end of 2024 on Monday, “pulled the plug itself”.
Food taken away, in the supermarket and for delivery are generally taxed at seven percent. In order to relieve the burden on the catering industry during the corona pandemic, the tax refund for food in restaurants and cafés was temporarily reduced from 19 to seven percent. The regulation was then extended several times due to the energy crisis, most recently until the end of this year.
Gastronomy warns of wave of bankruptcies
The catering industry had recently campaigned vehemently not to let the tax cut expire. The German Hotel and Restaurant Association DEHOGA recently warned of a wave of bankruptcies. Critics pointed to billions of euros in tax losses if VAT were to be permanently reduced.
In September, the Federal Ministry of Finance, led by the FDP, estimated the volume of the sales tax reduction at 3.4 billion euros.