Vape News: The Liquid Tax In Germany

The vape tax in the EU is going to affect the entire vaping industry, vapers, importers, vape manufacturers, etc. Today, we will have a look at the situation in Germany.

The finance committee of the current government in Germany, made up of the SPD and the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, has finally reached an agreement: the low prices will probably soon be history. In the future, e-liquid will be taxed at a whopping €3.20 – regardless of the nicotine strength. Another big hit for the vapers after the TPD vape regulation.

But no need to panic: A constitutional complaint has been filed, and even if the tax can no longer be stopped, the vaping community will be able to cope with the whole thing. After all, it is not yet 100% clear what the tax will look like in detail. What is already known and what that means for you as a vaper.

The decision on the liquid tax: This is new in the draft law that has been passed

After the entire vaping community was shocked when it was said that liquids should be taxed per milligram of nicotine in the future, this proposal is now off the table. But there is still no all-clear: Union and SPD have now agreed on a liquid tax, however, now uses the amount of liquid as the basis for assessment instead of the nicotine level.

What is incomprehensible is that nicotine-free liquids are also to be taxed as so-called “substitutes for tobacco products”, which reduces the justification for the law to prevent harmful tobacco consumption ad absurdum.

Should sunflower seeds also be taxed more heavily in the future because many former smokers use them as a popular substitute for the craving for cigarette consumption? Vaping is not an introduction to smoking but the alternative part excellence to quit smoking. However, flat-rate taxation of all liquids deprives people off switching to gradually reduce the nicotine strength to a minimum and gradually quit smoking.

Doesn’t this liquid tax stand in the way of the health policy goals of freeing more people from smoking? Answer: Yes! But instead of throwing in the towel and despairing, we should first take a sober look at the specific figures.

Plain Text: So Expensive Is Vape

What does all this mean in numbers? How expensive will vape be in the future? We have concrete answers to your questions.

First of all, it should be noted that all liquids usable for consumption in e-cigarettes will probably be covered by the tax, so definitely:

• short fills
• long fills
• nicotine shots

But to all DIY e-juice: don’t panic! Contrary to some reports, it is not yet confident whether there will also be a tax on flavors and bases. Even if bases should be taxed, there is still the possibility of purchasing the two ingredients PG (propylene glycol) and VG (vegetable glycerin), separately. These will certainly not be subject to the liquid tax, which means that all self-mixers who probably already wanted to throw up their hands over their heads at the invoked price increases of bases can take a deep breath.

Taxation begins at 16 cents per milliliter in July 2022 and is then to be increased in four steps by 2026 to 32 cents per milliliter at the beginning of each year. Specifically, a 10 ml liquid falls:

• €1.60 from July 1st, 2022,
• 2,- € from 2023,
• €2.60 from 2025 and
• €3.20 from 2026.

What will almost certainly disappear from the market because of the drastic price increase are short fills. But that’s how it is with the markets, which are constantly changing. The price for liquids in 2014 was around 7-8 euros, almost twice as much as today. The tax may not be optimal, but it will adjust the industry well. In recent years we have been able to prove time and again the dynamics with which the vaping community creates untrue factual claims, such as the scientifically disproved “gateway effect,” measures such as the e-cigarette advertising ban, or other obstacles that stand in our way to get out of the way.

The Constitutional Complaint of the BfTG

The dealer association “Alliance for Tobacco Free Enjoyment” – BfTG for short – published a statement saying they were planning to challenge the upcoming law with a constitutional complaint.

Even before the decision was made, the BfTG issued a 19-page statement on the unnecessary unequal treatment, massive price increases for e-liquids, and the only moderate price increase for conventional tobacco products. The industry association denounced, among other things, the non-observance of significant scientific findings, hasty action about the pending EU tobacco tax directive, and incorrect assessments and calculations.

Considering all these points, there is hope in our constitutional state in the form of the Federal Constitutional Court to recognize the injustice and declare the law unconstitutional. More and more media are becoming aware of the planned tobacco tax modernization law. The Suddeutsche, FAZ, Handelsblatt, and many other well-known magazines reported on the project of the BfTG and referred to the scientific studies on the subject.

So it looks like the current situation is getting the attention of more and more people who could side with the vaping community. Hope dies last.