Cities and municipalities are allowed to levy their own municipal tax on disposable packaging to avoid waste. This was decided by the Federal Administrative Court on Wednesday in the legal dispute over the Tübingen packaging tax. The lawsuit was filed by a McDonald's branch in the university town.
Katja Gelinsky
Business correspondent in Berlin
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The tax on disposable cups, crockery and cutlery is predominantly lawful, the Federal Administrative Court announced. It is a local excise tax within the meaning of the Basic Law. The fact that the food and beverages sold could also be consumed outside the municipal area does not change this.
The Tübingen packaging tax also does not contradict the federal government's waste law. Its purpose is to avoid packaging waste in urban areas and thus pursues the same goal as the requirements of the federal government and the EU on waste law. The Federal Administrative Court also sees no conflict with the case law of the Federal Constitutional Court.
A verdict on the former Kassel packaging tax from 25 years ago no longer fits today's waste law. According to the court, the statute on packaging tax is only unlawful in two detailed questions. The upper limit of taxation of 1.50 euros per "single meal" is too vague and the right of entry of the tax supervisory authority goes too far. "However, these selective violations do not affect the legality of the statutes in all other respects," it says.
So far, Tübingen is the only city to levy a tax on disposable to-go packaging. Environmentalists hope that other municipalities will now follow the Tübingen model. The littering of the urban area could be significantly curbed with the help of the tax.