If the gastro tax decreases, at McDonald’s the cork (opinion)

At CDU and CSU, Christmas is in April this year. The two parties gave an industry that was very good and very poor: German gastronomy. As of January 1, 2026, sales tax for food in the catering trade is to be permanently reduced from 19 to 7 percent, so it is in the coalition agreement with the SPD.

Anyone who thinks: “Oh great, eating is getting cheaper” is wrong. Gastro tax reduction is a billion dollar gift for an industry that is just as bad as everyone else. She just whines louder and lobby better.

Yes, the gastronomy was particularly suffering from Corona. But the end of the pandemic was more than three years ago. Since then, the sales of the industry have increased again and have reached a stable level. Nevertheless, the lobby association of the German Hotel and Restaurant Trading will not tire of emphasizing how difficult the situation is.

Taking sales tax to help again to get an industry is not a bad means. In 2020 it was true that the CDU-led government reduced the gastro tax. It was also correct that the traffic light had this reduction expired at the end of 2023. Insert them again – this time permanently – would be wrong and socially problematic.

In particular, the discount would benefit wealthy people. You can afford the luxury of eating away. And just as potentially increasing schnitzel prices that could come earlier without reduced gastro tax.

With an estimated economic growth of only 0.3 percent in this and 1.1 percent next year, the Union’s plan appears to be missed and irritating. To enforce such a measure in the current economic situation has only one meaningful effect: it shows how anti -social CDU and CSU can be.

The two parties do not seem to be economical. Lowering the gastro tax is expensive. The Institute of German Economy (IW) in Cologne calculated what the tax gift would cost: by reducing VAT, the German state would escape around four billion euros annually – about twice as much as the traffic light last year invested in digital infrastructure or a four -time humanitarian aid abroad.

The narrative of the family-run inn, which you have to save from ruin, also takes a detail of pathos: the large fast food groups benefit from a reduced sales tax for gastronomy.

The Foodwatch association has calculated that McDonald’s alone would have to pay around 140 million euros less tax a year. The entire fast food industry in Germany would be relieved of around 500 million euros per year.

In these numbers, a few moments of the Union’s Bundestag election campaign get a strange aftertaste. Both Friedrich Merz and Markus Söder visited McDonald’s branches. Söder praised the group as a “very large employer” and promised: “We are alongside all of our restaurants.” McDonald’s was also a sponsor of the CDU party congress and supported the construction of a new office of the party’s medium-sized companies.

The Union also seems to maintain good contact with the gastro lobby. Angela Inselkammer, DEHOGA Vice President, spoke out for his chancellery on the CDU website “Voices for Merz”. Her reason: “Because the Union of the Gastro strengthens its back.”

And how the Union does: In addition, the coalition agreement contains other important points for the industry. For example, there should be a weekly instead of daily maximum working hours. In addition, the reduction of reporting and documentation obligations as well as the reduction of the operating officers is planned. The Dehoga celebrates: “25 percent less bureaucracy costs in four years!”

The cork should also pop at McDonald’s and Co. Whether you also reduce the price for Schnitzel or Big Mac by 12 percent when you are in a good mood? Unlikely.