There is a dispute in Berlin. The chancellery stops a plan by Lars Klingbeil. He is the finance minister of Germany.
Klingbeil wants a new tax on sweet drinks. People pay more money for drinks with much sugar. The chancellery says no. The plan has no majority.
The plan has high costs. Klingbeil wants to get 1,2 billion euros. The agreed sum is only 450 million euros. This is a big difference.
The tax applies to drinks with much sugar. These are more than 5 grams of sugar per 100 milliliters. One liter of cola costs about 45 cents more.
Drinks without sugar cost no tax. Fruit juices and vegetable juices are also free from the tax. The tax makes people healthy.
Too much sugar makes people sick. It leads to fat bodies and bad teeth. The WHO recommends less sugar. The government talks more about the tax.
