Financial incentives to reduce single-use packaging
The single use packaging tax in the city of Tübingen
Tübingen Universitätstadt
A packaging tax has been in force in Tübingen since January 1, 2022. It must be paid by outlets selling disposable packaging, crockery and cutlery that serve food and drinks for immediate consumption or takeaway. The tax amount is:
0.50 euros (net) for disposable packaging such as coffee cups
0.50 euros (net) for disposable tableware such as chip trays
0.20 euros (net) for disposable cutlery and other aids such as drinking straws or ice cream spoons
The Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig ruled in May 2023 that the packaging tax is essentially lawful. The businesses in Tübingen will shortly receive the tax return form for 2022 and, following a review by the tax department, a tax assessment notice.
Tübingen
90.000 inhabitants
27.000 university students
30km south of Stuttgart
Why a local tax on packages?
• Increasing amounts of disposable packagings in public spaces
• Annual costs of 700.000 € for disposal
• Create an incentive to use reusable packagings
• No regulation / incentive on the national level
• Ressource protection = Climate protection
How does it work?
• 0,50 € on every single use food package
• 0,50 € on every single use drink package
• 0,20 € on single use cutlery
90.000 inhabitants
27.000 university students
30km south of Stuttgart
Why a local tax on packages?
• Increasing amounts of disposable packagings in public spaces
• Annual costs of 700.000 € for disposal
• Create an incentive to use reusable packagings
• No regulation / incentive on the national level
• Ressource protection = Climate protection
How does it work?
• 0,50 € on every single use food package
• 0,50 € on every single use drink package
• 0,20 € on single use cutlery
No tax if:• ≈440 businesses affected
• Reusable packing is used (e.g. as part of a deposit system)
• Food/drink are not consumed promptly
• Revenue ist expected to amount to several hundred thousand
Euros.
• 1,5 full-time positions in the tax department needed for tax
Collection
We support alternatives!
• Local subsidies for businesses transitioning to reusable packages
– 500 € for packages (per shop)
– 1000 € for dishwashers (per shop)
• 108 businesses have been subsidizied since 2020
– Currently 158 shops with reusable packages
• Three fairs for reusable packages organized by administration
– Connecting local business with companies offering reusable packaging
• Tax is a catalyst for the usage of reusable packages
• 52.000 € in subsidies have been disbursed to local businesses so far
Process
12/2018: municipal council orders administration to prepare a tax by law.
2019: intensive research into legal and practical affairs Q3+4 2019: meetings with local gastronomers regarding taxing and reusable packagings
01/2020: municipal council enacts the tax bylaw, being in effect as of 01/2021
05/2020: administration starts aid programm for local gastronomy to support transition towards reusable packages
07/2020: due to Covid19 pandemic municipal council shifts start of taxation to 01/2022
07/2021: Information about process of taxation sent to local shops.
Q3+4 2021: intense counseling of local shops
Q4 2021: Information campaign towards the public
• Local subsidies for businesses transitioning to reusable packages
– 500 € for packages (per shop)
– 1000 € for dishwashers (per shop)
• 108 businesses have been subsidizied since 2020
– Currently 158 shops with reusable packages
• Three fairs for reusable packages organized by administration
– Connecting local business with companies offering reusable packaging
• Tax is a catalyst for the usage of reusable packages
• 52.000 € in subsidies have been disbursed to local businesses so far
Process
12/2018: municipal council orders administration to prepare a tax by law.
2019: intensive research into legal and practical affairs Q3+4 2019: meetings with local gastronomers regarding taxing and reusable packagings
01/2020: municipal council enacts the tax bylaw, being in effect as of 01/2021
05/2020: administration starts aid programm for local gastronomy to support transition towards reusable packages
07/2020: due to Covid19 pandemic municipal council shifts start of taxation to 01/2022
07/2021: Information about process of taxation sent to local shops.
Q3+4 2021: intense counseling of local shops
Q4 2021: Information campaign towards the public
Does it work?
• Tax has been in effect since January 2022
– Visibly less trash in and around public trash bins
– Much more people using reusable packages
– Many local businesses completly phased out single-use packagings for food and drinks
Lawsuit
• Lawsuit by local McDonald´s franchise holder
– Court of first Instance decided in favour of McDonald´s in March 2022
– Tübingen appealed at the next level of court, which decided in favor of the City of Tübingen in May 2023
– March 2022 to May 2023:
• Decrease in the usage of reusable packages by shops
• Complaints by shop owners and customers because tax was kept in effect by city council
Looking forward
• Tax collecting for 2022 will start in the summer of 2023
• Additional information and counseling of local businesses will be necessary regarding taxation and the use of renewable packages
• More and more cities ask for information about the tax and think about implementing simmilar taxes
• Tax has been in effect since January 2022
– Visibly less trash in and around public trash bins
– Much more people using reusable packages
– Many local businesses completly phased out single-use packagings for food and drinks
Lawsuit
• Lawsuit by local McDonald´s franchise holder
– Court of first Instance decided in favour of McDonald´s in March 2022
– Tübingen appealed at the next level of court, which decided in favor of the City of Tübingen in May 2023
– March 2022 to May 2023:
• Decrease in the usage of reusable packages by shops
• Complaints by shop owners and customers because tax was kept in effect by city council
Looking forward
• Tax collecting for 2022 will start in the summer of 2023
• Additional information and counseling of local businesses will be necessary regarding taxation and the use of renewable packages
• More and more cities ask for information about the tax and think about implementing simmilar taxes
Find original publication here
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