Germany's Christian Democrat–Social Democrat coalition wants to raise tobacco tax more sharply than previously planned. According to RND newspapers, reported Monday, the price of a pack of cigarettes is to climb gradually from around eight euros currently to nearly twelve euros by 2030, about 40 cents more than what the federal cabinet recently approved.
The taxation of fine-cut tobacco, used for hand-rolled cigarettes, is likewise set to increase more sharply. The Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) cited a so-called "Formulierungshilfe" (drafting aid) from the Federal Ministry of Finance as its source.
The cabinet had only last Monday put forward an increase in tobacco tax. Under that plan, the tax was to rise gradually from January 1, 2027, so that the price of a pack of 20 cigarettes could exceed eleven euros by 2030. This would bring additional tax revenue of around 756 million euros in 2027, rising to 3.589 billion euros in 2030. The bill must now go before the Bundestag.
A spokesperson for the Finance Ministry confirmed on Monday in Berlin that the governing coalition's parliamentary groups had requested the change. They had asked for an amendment to the draft law to be prepared via a drafting aid. The planned steeper increase serves both budget consolidation and the "protection of public health," the spokesperson said, though they declined to comment on the details of the requested changes to tobacco tax.
The coalition parliamentary groups had decided "to adjust the tax rates provided for in the government's draft bill upward once again," sources within the coalition said. "This is intended above all to further strengthen the aspect of health protection."
The opposition views the planned steeper tobacco tax increase critically. The measure is "not a health strategy from the finance minister," said Left Party leader Ines Schwerdtner in Berlin, but rather "solely there to plug holes in the budget." When it comes to tobacco, alcohol and other harmful substances, what's needed is education and prevention, Schwerdtner stressed. "But simply raising the tax now will not be enough on its own," she said.
Green Party leader Franziska Brantner sees "question marks." The funds from the tax increase must be specifically channeled into the healthcare system, she said, for example to lower contributions or reverse unnecessary cuts. However, it was not yet clear where the money would end up, she said.
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