The Greens criticize the planned VAT reduction for food in restaurants. According to the deputy leader of the Greens’ parliamentary faction, Andreas Audretsch, the reduced VAT is mainly a tax gift for large fast-food chains. Audretsch told the “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland” that small taverns hardly benefit from the gift, as beer remains at 19% VAT. He criticized the “lobby work of McDonald’s with the Union” and claimed that the company can expect an additional profit of about 140 million euros per year. Audretsch doubts that restaurateurs will pass on the savings to customers. He told the RND that prices in restaurants should have drastically fallen by the end of the year, but representatives of associations are already making it clear that this will not happen, leading to a loss of around four billion euros in state coffers annually. The black-red coalition wants to reduce the VAT rate for food in restaurants from 19 to 7% permanently from 2026 according to the coalition agreement. The CDU politician Fritz Güntzler does not consider a price reduction for restaurant guests. He told the RND that the question of pricing in the restaurant industry is primarily a free decision of the entrepreneurs, who bear the economic risk of their business. Güntzler is confident that many businesses will use the more competitive VAT reduction as an opportunity to secure jobs, stimulate investments, expand services and continue to recover from the economic effects of the pandemic. In regions with few restaurants, the VAT reduction will contribute to their continued existence, according to the CDU politician.
‘Lobbying Work of McDonald’s Pays Off’
