Starting next year, the VAT rate in restaurants is set to rise from the current 7 percent to 19 percent. t-online shows what that would mean for the price of a schnitzel.
A difference of twelve percentage points is currently causing a lot of trouble: in the coming year, food in restaurants will again be taxed at 19 percent. At least that’s what the current planning of the traffic light government envisages.
VAT is currently still 7 percent – an exceptional rule with which the grand coalition wanted to relieve restaurateurs during the Corona crisis. The idea back then: financial compensation for the restaurant operators, who otherwise might have had to shut down operations permanently due to lower demand during the pandemic.
The fact that the exceptional rule, from which drinks are excluded, is still valid today, long after the end of Corona, is due to the energy crisis caused by the Russian war of aggression. The traffic light extended the measure, but only until the end of this year. That means: From January, going out to eat in a restaurant is likely to become significantly more expensive.
Surcharge would be passed on to guests
Many restaurateurs are therefore sounding the alarm and are now demanding that the reduced tax rate of 7 percent remain. Otherwise the industry would be threatened with closures because customers could no longer afford to visit the restaurant.
“We would have to pass the surcharge on to our customers one-to-one,” says Michael Steiger, owner of the “Irish Pub” in Tuttlingen, in a video appeal by the German Hotel and Restaurant Association (Dehoga) to politicians. Especially for rural areas, the increase is a danger.
On Friday, Dehoga representatives will discuss with Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Wiesbaden. The VAT rate will also be an issue there. The federal government has not yet spoken out in favor of an extension. Because it is also about a lot of money for the state coffers: the tax authorities are missing around 3.4 billion euros per year due to the tax reduction. A spokesman for the Federal Ministry of Finance told the “Rheinische Post” that the ministry therefore wanted to wait for the next tax estimate. “In the course of the parliamentary deliberations on the 2024 federal budget, the question of a possible continuation of the reduction will have to be assessed in the light of the November tax estimate,” said a spokesman.
The federal government has not yet decided
The first traffic light politicians are also openly thinking about extending the gastro discount. A closed restaurant pays “no sales tax at all,” says the responsible member of the Bundestag, Daniel Rinkert (SPD). Only the Greens are against a continuation so far. The opposition Union meanwhile wants the rule to be abolished entirely, i.e. a permanently lower tax rate for food.
But what would it mean in concrete terms if taxes went up again? t-online did the math. If the restaurateurs – as many have already announced – pass on the price increases through the increase of twelve percentage points one-to-one to their guests, the following example meals would cost as much:
One currywurst with fries currently costs about 8 euros. Thereof 0.52 euros VAT (7 percent). After the increase, the price for a currywurst with fries would rise to 8.90 euros. Thereof 1.42 VAT (19 percent).One Salatbowl currently costs around 10 euros. are included 0.65 euros VAT (7 percent). After the increase, the price of the salad bowl would rise to 11.35 euros. Thereof 1.78 euros VAT (19 percent).A Pasta dish with small salad you get for about 20 euros. Thereof 1.31 euros VAT (7 percent). After the increase, the cost of this dish would rise to more than 22 euros. Thereof 3.55 euros VAT (19 percent).A Schnitzel in the Berlin noble restaurant “Borchardt” currently costs 32 euros. Thereof 2.09 euros VAT (7 percent). After the increase, 35.50 euros would have to be paid for the schnitzel. Thereof 5.68 euros VAT (19 percent).
Above all, the industry needs planning security, says Sven Liebert, Secretary General of the Federal Association of the German Tourism Industry, to t-online. “Our concern is that many companies that have fought their way through Corona and are now additionally shaken by inflation will say, ‘This is the last nail in the coffin that I just needed’ and will close.”
The restaurateurs are already not doing well, they have been suffering from the poor economic situation for three years: First Corona came with temporary closures or only out-of-home sales, then the higher cost of food due to inflation and the high energy prices, which especially arise in the kitchen. According to the Federal Statistical Office, the income of restaurateurs in the first quarter of the current year is 12.5 percent lower than in the year before the pandemic, 2019.
Price shock expected
In the first two years of Corona, 36,000 companies in the industry also went bankrupt. Well-known cases are the steakhouse chain “Maredo” or the gastro chain “Vapiano”, which had to file for bankruptcy at the beginning of 2020. 14,000 restaurant businesses are currently threatened with closure, as the “Handelsblatt” learned from the credit agency Crif/Bürgel.
Liebert from the umbrella organization warns that there will be a “price shock” if VAT rises again at the beginning of the year. As a result, people who already have to watch out for money will hardly be able to afford to go out to eat. The price increase also has consequences for the tourism industry. “We cannot attract tourists to Germany if we no longer offer a variety of restaurants. Even the city centers no longer offer a quality of stay without restaurants.”
