Garmisch-Partenkirchen (dpa/lby) - The Bavarian Hotel and Restaurant Association is calling for the VAT on drinks to be reduced from 19 to seven percent. The VAT on food was already reduced during the Corona pandemic. The gastronomy, which lives mainly from drinks, now needs the same support, said the president of the association, Angela Inselkammer, on Tuesday at the Bavarian host day in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) supported the association's demand there. You also have to think about the amount of VAT on food in general. A value-added tax increase, on the other hand, would be "the wrong signal for our country."
In addition, the overall income for the employees would have to increase and the labor costs of the employers would have to decrease, demanded the Inselkammer. In times when everything is getting more expensive, the state simply takes too much. At the end of the month, people need "more net from the gross" - this also increases purchasing power.
The VAT on food in the catering trade was reduced from 19 to 7 percent during the corona pandemic - originally limited to the end of 2022. At the suggestion of Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP), the cabinet had already approved an extension for 2023.
