Based on legislative drafts, the German government anticipates the need for more than 1,000 new positions as a result of planned sugar and plastic taxes, according to reports from the “Bild-Zeitung” citing the Federal Ministry of Finance.
Specifically, the Ministry calculates a total workload equating to 1,046 full-time positions. The new plastic tax alone requires 788 full-time roles within Customs, 28 positions with the federal IT service provider ITZBund, and three roles within the Ministry of Finance. The annual costs associated with this tax are set at 46 million euros.
For the sugar tax, the Ministry of Finance estimates that 200 full-time positions must be created in Customs and 23 with ITZBund. Within the ministry itself, officials under Federal Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD) estimate a requirement for 3.75 positions. The yearly cost for the sugar tax stands at 28 million euros. The Ministry of Finance has not commented on whether these roles must be filled by new recruits or if existing staff will be reassigned. Separately, the budget plan indicates that the Customs administration alone is slated to increase its number of positions by 934 next year.
Reiner Holznagel, president of the German Taxpayers’ Association, sharply criticized these staffing and tax proposals. He described the introduction of over 1,000 new jobs for just two new taxes as “predictable bureaucratic madness.” Holznagel stated that instead of critically reviewing existing expenditures and organizational structures, the government is once again attempting to cover budget deficits by imposing new taxes, which he calls the wrong approach.
