Higher Alcohol Taxes To Support Health And Public Finances
Germany’s federal cabinet has approved a bill that would raise taxes on several alcoholic beverages by 20% from January 1, 2027. The measure covers spirits, such as vodka, rum, and grain spirits, as well as sparkling wine, such as Champagne, fortified wines and alcopops.
Beer would remain outside the increase, while wine would continue to have no special tax at all.
The decision combines a fiscal goal with an important people’s health opportunity. Higher alcohol prices lower population-level alcohol use while generating resources that governments can invest in health and social development. In fact, Germany’s current proposal follows recommendations from a Health Finance Commission that linked higher alcohol taxes with reduced alcohol use and fewer alcohol harms and costs.
According to the Deutschlandfunk reporting, Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil’s proposal would raise the tax on spirits from €13.03 to €15.64 per litre of pure alcohol. For example, the price of a 0.7-litre bottle of vodka at 40% alcohol would rise by €0.87 to nearly €0.90 more, including VAT.
The government expects the measure to generate between €400 million and €455 million in additional annual revenue. The cabinet had already identified higher alcohol and tobacco taxes as part of measures to address federal budget gaps.
Big Majority Supports Increase Of Alcohol Tax In Germany
People’s opinion also shows substantial support for the measure. A Forsa survey commissioned by the Health Insurance Fund KKH found that almost two-thirds of respondents considered the planned tax increase sensible. About one-third viewed it as pointless.
At the same time, 29% of respondents believed the tax increase would reduce alcohol use, while two-thirds did not expect consumption of the affected products to decline. Among people who supported the tax increase, confidence in its impact was somewhat higher, at 35%.
The survey also points to high people’s support for broader measures that promote a healthier society:
- 74% of respondents considered more education and prevention suitable for reducing alcohol use in Germany.
- Two-thirds also supported an age limit increase to 18 years for alcohol purchase and consumption.
These findings show that people’s support for public health action on alcohol is high in Germany, including alcohol taxation and age limits – some of the alcohol policy best buys.
Doctors’ Criticism Of Piecemeal Alcohol Tax Increase
Medical experts have welcomed the decision to raise alcohol taxation but criticised the decision to exclude beer and wine.
Erik Bodendieck, president of the Saxon State Medical Association and a physician specialising in addiction medicine, said that health-based alcohol taxation should apply across all alcoholic beverages. He questioned why Germany would increase taxes on some products while leaving others outside the measure.
If we levy taxes, and especially on spirits, as the German medical profession has been demanding for several years now, then this must be done on all spirits, because every alcohol molecule is a cell poison, and therefore, from my point of view, it is incomprehensible, for health reasons, why this should not apply to all alcoholic beverages,” said Erik Bodendieck, according to MDR AKTUELL reporting.
Erik Bodendieck, president, Saxon State Medical Association and physician specialising in addiction medicine
Björn Probst, a winery manager at Schloss Proschwitz in Dresden, also questioned the distinction between sparkling wine and still wine. He pointed out that still wine generally contains 10–13% alcohol by volume, while sparkling wine falls within a similar range.
Addiction researcher Jakob Manthey of the University Hospital Hamburg has also made the case for broader alcohol taxation.
According to the MDR report, he estimated that taxing beer more and introducing a general tax on wine could generate around €5 billion in additional revenue.
He also estimated that such a broader approach could prevent approximately 4,250 alcohol-related deaths over three years.
These arguments highlight an important policy principle: taxation can focus on the alcohol content itself rather than creating large differences between beverage categories.
More research supports this approach. An analysis of alcohol taxation in Europe found that Germany generated only €44 per person in alcohol excise revenue in 2022, compared with €167 in Latvia, €188 in Lithuania and €218 in Estonia. Germany’s inflation-adjusted per-capita alcohol-tax revenue also fell 22.9% between 2010 and 2022.
Alcohol Tax Receipt For German Society In 2025
Germany’s latest alcohol tax figures show the scale of the existing system. In 2025, the federal government collected €2.1 billion through alcohol tax, according to Statistisches Bundesamt (Federal Statistics Office).
The same year, 149.0 million litres of alcohol were subject to tax, representing a 5.3% decline from 2024. Germany also had 10,057 approved distilleries in 2025.
This shows that the proposed alcohol tax increase could raise additional revenue but that the government is leaving lots of revenue and public health benefits by avoiding to properly tax beer and wine.
A 2024 study that was based on a quasi natural experiment in five EU countries found that policymakers can indeed increase revenue and reduce alcohol consumption and harm by increasing alcohol taxes.
Germany’s Next Step Towards Healthier Alcohol Policy
The Health Finance Commission had recommended a more ambitious approach than the government’s current 20% proposal. It called for three consecutive increases in 2027, 2028 and 2029, with the first increase reportedly exceeding 40%. The commission expected higher prices to reduce alcohol use and potentially prevent around 1,000 cancer cases each year, alongside numerous accidents.
Moreover, a review of research on alcohol taxation also found that pricing policies produced some of the largest reductions in alcohol use among the measures examined. The review covered 36 studies and estimated that doubling alcohol taxes or introducing minimum unit pricing at the studied level reduced alcohol use by about 10%.
Germany’s 2027 tax increase therefore represents more than a budget measure. It offers an opportunity to use fiscal policy to promote health and well-being. ‘Extending fair taxation across all alcoholic beverages could strengthen that approach further and help ensure that health and social development remain at the centre of alcohol policy.
Sources
Deutschlandfunk: “Steuer auf Spirituosen, Sekt und Alkopops soll 2027 steigen” / “Tax on spirits, sparkling wine and alcopops to rise in 2027“
ZDFheute: “Spirituosen sollen ab 2027 teurer werden” / “Spirits to become more expensive from 2027”
Just Drinks: “Germany mulling tax increase on spirits”
Brauwelt International: “German Treasury wants higher taxes on spirits, bubbly and alcopops”
Vinetur: “Germany’s Cabinet approved a 20% tax increase on spirits and sparkling wine“
WirtschaftsWoche: “Alkoholsteuer: Mehrheit in Deutschland für Erhöhung – Zweifel an Wirkung” / “Alcohol tax: Majority in Germany in favour of increase – doubts about effectiveness”
MDR Aktuell: “Schwachsinnig – Ärzte fordern Steuererhöhung auf Bier und Wein” / “‘Nonsense’ – Doctors demand tax increase on beer and wine”
Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis): “2025: 149,0 Millionen Liter Alkohol versteuert” / “2025: 149.0 million litres of alcohol taxed”