The German government is preparing a new tax on sweetened beverages that would extend far beyond conventional sugary soft drinks and even includes sugar free drinks.
According to draft key points drawn up by the Finance Ministry under Lars Klingbeil (SPD) the levy would also cover products sweetened with artificial sweeteners such as Cola Zero, Sprite Zero and similar “light” or “zero” varieties.
In addition it would apply to a wide range of other drinks including certain fruit juices made from concentrate, milk-based mixed drinks, plant-based alternatives such as oat and soya milk, iced teas, ready-to-drink coffees, alcohol-free beer and alcohol-free wine.
Oat drinks are usually sold explicitly as “without added sugar”, but do contain natural sugars.
Pure milk and 100 per cent fruit juices would remain exempt.
The measure is currently scheduled to take effect in 2027, a year earlier than previously discussed, though the proposal has not yet been agreed across government departments.
The government’s approach has shifted noticeably from the original recommendations of the Finance Commission Health.
That body had proposed a sugar levy primarily as a behavioural instrument. By taxing sugar content it hoped to push manufacturers to reformulate recipes downwards and to discourage heavy consumption among the public.
Precisely for this reason the commission explicitly left drinks sweetened only with artificial sweeteners outside the tax, regarding them as a less harmful alternative that consumers might switch to.
The Finance Ministry’s current draft, however, lowers the entry threshold from the commission’s suggested five grams of sugar per 100 millilitres to 4.5 grams and, more controversially, applies the lowest rate of 26 cents per litre to any product containing artificial sweeteners regardless of sugar content.
It also brings the start date forward to 2027 and sets the top rate at a relatively high 38 cents per litre from the outset rather than phasing rates in gradually.
These changes have turned what was framed as a targeted health measure into a broader revenue-raising tool, prompting internal resistance and criticism that the original reformulation incentive has been diluted.
The tax would be levied according to a three-tier structure based primarily on sugar content. Drinks containing between 4.5 and 7 grams of sugar per 100 millilitres would attract 26 cents per litre.
Those with 7 to 10 grams would face 32 cents per litre, while anything above 10 grams would be charged 38 cents per litre.
Crucially, any beverage containing artificial sweeteners would also be taxed at the lowest rate of 26 cents per litre, regardless of whether it contains any sugar at all.
Value-added tax would be charged on top of these amounts.
The Agriculture Ministry has already signalled its opposition.
Officials there argue that the Finance Ministry’s draft goes substantially beyond the recommendations of the government’s own health finance commission, which had focused more narrowly on sugar-sweetened soft drinks.
They also maintain that the proposed 2027 start date leaves manufacturers too little time to reformulate products.
Industry representatives and consumer advocates have raised a further objection that has become known as the “double tax” critique.
Because value-added tax is calculated on the final retail price, any increase caused by the new sugar levy automatically raises the VAT bill as well.
Consumers would therefore pay both the new specific tax and a higher amount of VAT on the same product, creating a compounding effect.
Early estimates suggest the broader version of the tax could raise around €2 billion a year, well above the €650 million previously earmarked for 2027 to help stabilise statutory health insurance.
COMMENT: If the EU were serious about food security, it would stop treating the European farmer as collateral damage in a theatre of moral vanity, writes @BogdanosK. https://t.co/ZgkXQD5kHt
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) February 16, 2026
