Permanent Reduction of VAT on Restaurant Meals from 2026: Who Benefits?

• The coalition agreement plans to permanently reduce the VAT on food in the gastronomy sector to seven percent from January 1, 2026.
• The temporary reduction from 19 percent to seven percent was introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic and extended several times until December 31, 2023.
• Attempts by opposition parties to make the reduced VAT permanent beyond 2023 have failed.
• The permanent reduction requires changes to the VAT law in 2025 and is subject to financial feasibility, with an estimated annual tax loss of 3.5 billion euros.
• The reduction is unlikely to benefit consumers as restaurant prices are not expected to decrease.
• The measure is seen as catering to the interests of the gastronomy sector rather than addressing broader economic challenges.
• A comprehensive revision of VAT laws is suggested as a better approach to address high energy and purchase prices and maintain competitiveness.

Source: nwb-experten-blog.de

Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.

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