The German government's plans to tax e-liquid face opposition. Egarage magazine reports. The Green Party, the Left and the liberal FDP argue that the tax is ill-conceived and disproportionate to the risks of e-cigarettes.
It was in the fall that the German government (Christian and Social Democratic) put forward a proposal to tax nicotine-containing e-liquid. The tax would be the equivalent of two crowns per milliliter, and then increased to four crowns. And it would happen quickly. The law would come into force as early as 2022. However, the proposal has been heavily criticized, not only by health experts, but also by politicians from different camps.
Multiplying the price of e-liquid
According to the liberal FDP, the tax brings e-liquid closer to the same price as cigarettes, which ultimately affects public health.
"In the worst case, this could multiply the price of commercially available e-liquid. This will be completely counterproductive in terms of health policy, as it will severely limit the competitiveness of vejp products vis-à-vis cigarettes," says To Mansmann, representative in the Finance Committee of the Liberal FDP to Garage.
Should have lower tax than cigarettes
The Left Party (Die Linke) is on the same track. According to Niema Movassat, spokesperson for left-wing drug policy in the Bundestag, tax policy must also guide health care.
"Harm reduction products should not be made more expensive than the more harmful product through a tax. Therefore, the state should intentionally tax e-cigarettes lower than tobacco and cigarettes" he tells Garage.
Want to get smokers to choose e-cigs
The Green Party believes that taxation of products should be based on the risk of harm. According to the party's spokesperson Stefan SchmidtThere are risks associated with e-cigarettes that legislators need to take seriously. At the same time, society needs to encourage smokers to choose healthier alternatives to cigarettes, says Schmidt.
"The more harmful the product, the higher the tax. Conventional cigarettes should be taxed more heavily than smokeless tobacco products and in particular more heavily than e-cigarettes. The proposal that conventional cigarettes and e-cigarettes should be taxed in a similar way is in our view not at all appropriate. It reduces the likelihood that regular smokers, who cannot quit completely, will switch to less harmful products like e-cigarettes. We therefore reject his proposal." Stefan Schmidt told Egarage.
Similar tax as in Sweden
A tax on e-juice has been on the political table for several years. Sweden already introduced a tax on e-liquid in 2018, similar to the German proposal. At the turn of the year 20/21 Parliament also voted through an additional tax, this time at 4 kr/ml, for highly concentrated e-liquid (above 15mg/ml). Swedish politicians, unlike their German counterparts, were basically in agreement on the issue.
Want to avoid black market
At the same time, in the fall, the Estonian government announced that it abolishes its tax on e-liquid. The reason was the black market that grew like wildfire after the price of regulated e-juice skyrocketed.
Stefan Schmidt from die Grünen wants to avoid a similar situation in Germany. He proposes that taxes on e-liquids be regulated by the EU instead.
"As we are dealing with a single market, it is more appropriate to reform the EU Tobacco Tax Directive at EU level. This will ensure that all EU countries have a uniform basis for taxing e-cigarettes. This is the only way to prevent people from buying products from tax-free EU countries." Stefan Schmidt added Garage.
Agree there should be no tax on e-liquid and it should be much cheaper. But thc so should not be in e-liquid but they should switch to cbd much better.